Konoha's Fox
by 7-hemphisis-dragon-7
Summary: What if Gaara and Naruto's stories kind of, switched? Gaara, a survivor to the pains of being a Jinchuuriki, took part in the Chuunin Exams against Konoha-nin. Uzumaki Naruto was the most horrifying student he had ever seen. Rated M for blood and gore.
1. Ch1 Horrific Beginnings

_**Full Summary:What if Gaara and Naruto's stories kind of... switched? Gaara is Suna's Jinchuuriki; the carrier for the Bijuu and the shunned and ignored of the Wind Village. Luckily, he had found refuge with his siblings and shinobi sensei, Baki, and avoided being the monster that he could've been. And then the Chunin Exams took place, and Gaara witnessed one of the competitors from Konoha. Uzumaki Naruto had to be the most horrifying student he had ever seen, a student who craved the sight of blood and fed on the pain of others. No pairing except hints of NaruGaa. Rated M for blood and gore.**_

**_All Genres:Horror/Angst/Humor/Hurt-Comfort_**

_**Hey people! I know I'm now working on four stories at once, but this one just begged to be written down. I'm in love with all my stories, believe me, but this one is within the horror category, making it extra special (personally). Really, this one is just starting out slowly, but believe me, the real story will begin in the next chapter. This one is kind of just... a foreshadowing or something...**_

_**Anyway, in this story where Naruto's in solitude and Gaara isn't, Naruto has a more flashy and savage way of showing it than Gaara did. Really, the blond still has his sociable nature and the redhead still has his subtle personality so they're not entirely different from the two boys we all know and love, so don't get depressed. Hope you enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer:**

**Naruto: Omfg... I'm more emo than Sasuke... And even GAARA! That's just messed up...**

**Sasuke: You think? She actually made me--**

**Me: NO SPOILERS! Wait till they read the chapter, guys!**

**Sasuke: You don't own me! Don't tell me what to do, fuzzbag!**

**Me: -eyebrow twitch-**

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Horrific Beginnings**_

_**Six Years Ago…**_

_**Fire Country, Konohagakure**_

_An untouched blond six-year-old boy walked impassively to the man bleeding profusely in the middle of the black alley; the small shirt he wore displayed a swirl splattered with scarlet liquid. The man coughed and held the fatal wound on his side, blood sputtering from his mouth and drizzling down his chin. His shinbone stuck out halfway from the top of his knee, the kneecap leaning on the back of it from its severed connection and leaving him completely immobile. His shoulder was torn open from the abnormally sharp nails the blond currently wielded._

_He looked up in fear as the child towered over his submissive form, narrowing the large light blue eyes on his whiskered face. In one final act of desperation, he sat up a bit and pleaded, "No… Please… Get away, you monster! No! I don't want to die! Please! I'll do anything! Anythi-"_

_His pitiful request was cut short as the child kneeled and grasped the victim's neck with burning eyes, his knife-like nails hooking themselves into the vulnerable skin. The boy's prey widened his eyes in horror before he heard the last word that would ever grace his ears again._

"_Pathetic…"_

_The boy pushed his fingers toward each other and through the neck not a moment after. Blood gushed onto his small hand as the man let out a noisy gasp, but he didn't stop there. Allowing his mouth to twitch up into a sinful smirk while his canine's shown brightly, the small killer ripped the jugular vein from its host effortlessly as one final cry of pain cut its way through the cold night air. The limp corpse fell back onto the ground as the child tossed the esophagus uncaringly to the side. His heart was racing from the thrill of the whole situation, and his maniacal smile grew from the growing insanity before his irises momentarily flashed a hint of crimson._

_**Six Years Later…**_

_**Wind Country, Sunagakure**_

A short redheaded twelve-year-old boy walked slowly down the halls of the Kazekage building, a large gourd hanging tightly on his back. His father wanted to see him. It must've been for the Chuunin Exams coming up, otherwise, the Kazekage would want nothing to do with him today. The Kazekage had a hard time getting along with his youngest son, but one couldn't say he hated him. It was _his_ fault, after all, that his wife died and his son was what he was.

The child's two older siblings were probably there already. His pace quickened, his white sash flowing through the air behind him and his maroon suit clinging to his small body. **(1) **If it hadn't been for them and his sensei, Baki, he would've led a lonely life and become a threat to the very village his father wanted him to protect.

And now he was right in front of his father's office, ready to go inside. Muffled voices could be heard: probably his family and Baki-sensei. He took a deep breath and knocked loud enough to cease the talking going on inside. There was a brief pause before someone spoke.

"Come in,"

He did so, stepping in quietly before closing the wooden door behind him. The redhead looked up to see exactly who he had expected to be in here at the time. They all looked at him blankly as he blinked in return.

"You wanted to see me, Kazekage-sama?" he asked monotonously.

The addressed man hesitated slightly before answering, "Why, yes. Baki and I wanted to speak with you and your siblings about something before the Chuunin Exams start. Take a seat next to your brother."

The boy nodded in acknowledgement before looking in the other two's direction. They smiled and waved momentarily, "Hey, Gaara."

Nodding to them as well, said boy walked over and sat down next to his brother. The three then looked up at their elders patiently as the pair took deep breathes. They looked grave in a way, and Gaara wondered why -- it all seemed very suspicious. That was when his sensei looked up.

"As you know, the Chuunin Exams will be taking place in a month," he started as they looked on, "You must also know by now of our shortage of resources and shinobi around the village. Our culture is dying. Our people have little protection. We are a sitting target for the enemy villages and our reputation is starting to dwindle. Ever since our alliance with the Leaf Village, things are getting worse."

The siblings listened with a trace of fear as what they heard processed in their minds. Of course, they already could see the weaknesses the Sand Village was starting to show, but they had never heard it in words. Suddenly, the Kazekage took up the explanation.

"What you don't know, is the affiliation we now have with one of the newer hidden villages; a hidden village you most likely don't know of yet. It calls itself the Sound Village, and it dwells in the Rice Field Country. The secret trade we've started with them is one of the reasons our resources are holding up." he explained grimly, "They had offered this in return for an alliance, but they are enemies of the Leaf… They want our help to lead an assault on Konoha."

"What?!" the two older siblings yelped in unison as they stared at the two men, "Attack the Leaf? Why would we attack them! They're our allies!"

Gaara said nothing while his eyes narrowed as his suspicions came true. So, they _were_ hiding something. His father sighed heavily before looking at his children, "Settle yourselves, Temari, Kankuro… You know our alliance with them has been causing nothing but poverty among the village."

"But that's only because of Sandaime **(2)**! And forgive me for saying this, but _he_ was the one fool enough to lower our defenses. This has nothing to do with Konohagakure!" Temari pointed out desperately.

"I know… I know… But now our defenses are _too_ low, and if the _Leaf_ suddenly turned on _us_, we would be too weak to defend ourselves. Besides, Otogakure is the only reason we have resources at the moment, so we need to give them aid in return," the Kage explained sorrowfully. **(3)**

The three suppressed the urge to argue further as they knew the matter was settled. They were going to attack the Leaf Village, their strongest ally… There were so many things wrong with this situation, they didn't know where to begin. Finally, someone spoke that didn't usually speak, making nearly the entire room jump in surprise.

"This will be… during the Chuunin Exams?" Gaara asked suddenly as he looked up at his father.

Baki was the first to answer him, "Yes… It'll start in the middle of the Third Exam actually."

"What of the genin?" he asked further, his eyes slightly narrowing.

This time, Yondaime answered him, "There will be no possible way for them to become chuunin this time around unless a jounin recommends them for the rank."

Gaara merely nodded in acknowledgement although his eyes were still narrowed. His two older siblings ground their teeth in frustration from the village's decision while he returned to a blank expression. They reluctantly stood up and left when their father waved their dismissal. He also seemed reluctant about the result of the conference. Gaara led the way out with his arms crossed. The wrongness of this whole situation was just too much, but what could the three do? They had no say in the matter whatsoever, the Kage's children or not.

* * *

It was time. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were to go to the Hidden Leaf Village where the hidden villages were hosting the Chuunin Exams. The first exam began in four days, and this was their time to leave for it. It would take at least three days to get to Konoha.

All three were in their rooms, packing for the three part test, and they couldn't help but wonder how they were going to overthrow the Leaf. It wouldn't be easy, that was certain. Gaara merely packed a few sets of clothing before zipping up his bag. He would have to carry it on one shoulder because of his gourd. Taking a deep breath, he left for his brother's room.

Kankuro had just finished packing when he heard a brief knock at his door. He turned before hesitantly calling for the visitor to enter. The teenager was quite surprised to see his little brother on the other side.

"Gaara?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as if he didn't trust his vision.

The redhead merely nodded before walking inside and closing the door behind him. Ever since their uncle's death it was quite hard to get close to the younger boy, thus resulting in very awkward and unnerving conversations.

"Kankuro…" the teal-eyed boy started almost melancholically, "There's something wrong with father's decision…"

"Psh… Yeah, tell me about it," the other boy answered with a sigh, "But I guess he can't have _all_ the blame. I mean, he probably spoke with the elders about it too before telling us."

"Yes…" Gaara agreed slowly before continuing, "He wishes to use me as the main weapon in the assault."

"What?" Kankuro asked in bewilderment as he stared at his brother.

The younger boy closed his eyes before going on, "The day after the conference, he called me to his office again. He had told me that the only way the attack would be successful would be if Shukaku were to aid us."

"But… But that's too dangerous! Surely dad wouldn't go _that_ far to-"

"If it serves my purpose, then I'm alright with it…" the redhead interrupted as his dark eyes remained closed.

The puppeteer looked at the boy with disbelief. Gaara would have to let that monster out during the Third Exam, and he was okay with it? Of course, the redhead was never one to complain about anything really. Still, this was crazy! Letting the monster out wouldn't only hurt everyone and prove difficult to stop, but it would also hurt Gaara himself, and as a brother, this was going to be a huge problem for the brunet.

"Otouto…" Kankuro started, using the one word he only called his sibling when he was dead serious, "We've already been through this… Your purpose is to live so that us people have a chance to know you. You don't know how precious you are to Temari and me."

The statement made Gaara's heart clench ever so slightly. The word "precious" was a very sensitive thing when said around him, and saying that _he_ was precious to someone made it all the more susceptible. He winced at the reflex in his chest but showed nothing else, "Yes… But your concern isn't what I'm looking to receive anymore."

"Father, huh?" Kankuro asked as he leaned against his bed with his arms folded. Hesitantly, Gaara nodded. He had been seeking the Kazekage's consent ever since he had recovered as much as he could from his uncle's death. It had been quite difficult seeing as Gaara himself was the one who had basically killed his uncle, Yashamaru.

It had all been caused when the Kage panicked briefly about the danger his son was growing to be and absentmindedly directed his deceased-wife's brother to assassinate him. The hate in Yashamaru's heart toward the boy drove him to accept without hesitation although he had acted like Gaara's second father for his entire six-year-old life. When the attempt at murder failed and the redhead shattered the man's body with the sand he wielded, Yashamaru killed himself with explosive notes, hoping to take Gaara with him, but failed once again. The assault had nearly devastated the small boy's sanity all together if it weren't for his siblings.

Gaara stood and thought in silence for a moment before spontaneously asking, "Why don't we ever call him Chichi?"

The name that was the most endearing thing a child could call their father processed through the older boy's mind before he shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know, maybe it's because he's the Kazekage, and I guess calling him that would almost be a form of weakness and disrespect in his honor."

"Hn…" was all that escaped the other's lips before he opened his eyes again. Kankuro stared back at his brother with a mirrored blank expression. The puppet master was the one person he was closest to, and probably the _only _one he could have sociable conversations with. He averted his teal eyes after a few wearisome seconds.

"Weakness…" he repeated finally, his throat curling in disgust of the word. Despite the sand shield that kept him physically analgesic, he knew he was obviously weak. His conscience was weak, his mentality was frail, and his soul, his spirit, was pathetic. He must be the living embodiment of embarrassment for his father.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, Gaara…" Kankuro trailed off for a moment or two before letting his frustration show through with a growl, "Dammit! **You're not weak**! This is getting more and more ridiculous. Just because dad doesn't have the best of relationships with you, doesn't mean you embarrass him!"

Gaara's expression remained blank, but his frustration began to rise, "How would you know that, Kankuro? You have no idea, do you? You're not even sure yourself about what you just said, are you?"

"Yes, I am. If anything, you're one of the strongest people I have ever known…" the brunet confessed quietly. His sibling stared blankly, clearly taken aback from the sudden statement. It was so sincere and gentle, it was almost disturbingly nerve-racking. The older of the two looked away uncomfortably before continuing, "But _you_ don't know it… Hell, I can't blame you though…"

"Why… Why would you say that?" his little brother asked suddenly.

It was a moment or two before the other replied, finally looking up into the other's eyes, "Because… Because you've been through so much torture, and hate, and pain, and I can't even _begin_ to think of any possible way that you could've gotten through it all without breaking. Not many people could survive a cruel world like ours being seen the way most people see you, but you did. Otouto, nothing about you is weak."

The redhead was still slightly taken aback after this explanation. A tension quickly went up between the two brothers for a long while. Gaara could only stare. Was this really how his brother saw him? As one of the strongest people he knew? Finally, he regained his calm composure before turning swiftly to head out the door. Kankuro sighed from the result of the conversation, still a bit frustrated about Gaara's self-consciousness, but turned to walk toward his private bathroom nonetheless, knowing full well that their socializing had quickly come to an end. It was the sudden words that rapidly graced his ears that made him jump and look over his shoulder.

"Thank you…"

And with that, the door closed shut.

* * *

_**One Month Earlier…**_

_**Fire Country, Konohagakure**_

A white-haired jounin walked across the room, his nose and mouth kept hidden under a navy mask. The one eye, revealed in contrast to the other features of his face, looked quite bored. So… This was the Jinchuuriki's apartment? It almost looked like no one had lived here for years. All the furniture was buried in half-inch thick dust. He was a twelve-year-old boy. Wouldn't he have gotten that one instinct that twelve-year-old boys get that literally commanded them to trash anything that looked neat in the slightest? A smirk nearly spread across the man's cloth-covered face.

The Third Hokage stood behind him in silence, clearly thinking about something important. His eyes followed the other blindly as he observed the ostensibly empty apartment living room. The man seemed to be very interested in the dust factor of the area.

"So… This is the apartment that the elders let him have? He must be bored out of his mind…" the younger ninja commented with a slight smile in his eye, "But really… Doesn't the cleanliness strike you as odd?"

The Hokage nearly smirked, "Yes… The living room and kitchen may look clean… But all the food is spoiled rotten. If you opened the fridge at this very moment, you'd probably die from the fumes that would explode in your face."

"I see…" was all the other said before the older of the two continued with closed eyes.

"The cleanliness mainly is the effect of not spending really any time in these two rooms at all…"

"Meaning…" the jounin trailed off with his visible eyebrow raised.

The other's eyes remained shut, "Meaning that you should take a look at his bedroom…"

The man appeared to raise an eyebrow at the sudden suggestion. He had to admit, the sudden neat appearance of the boy's home was shocking, but what made the bedroom so special amongst the rooms? He got his answer when the older man opened the door that led to the sleeping area and he followed him inside. The entire room was a mess of chaos and debris. Rubble lied where dressers and stands should've been. A large mirror was in shards on the torn and slashed out carpet. The doors of the closet were ripped savagely off their hinges and the half of one door was in splinters. And the bed… Oh Lord, the bed… It looked as if an abnormally large beast had had a nightmare under the covers. Teeny feathers that were once pillows were actually neatly piled in the middle of the broken mattress.

The man looked around the shredded area with a look of slight shock and slight remorse. It was a moment or two before he finally said something, "He has a lot of hate doesn't he, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes… Almost too much… But who are we to blame him? No matter where a human sacrifice grows up, they are all treated the same… That's just how cruel us people are," the Leader of the Leaf Village pointed out drastically.

"True…" the other answered slowly as he further observed the room, "And I'm guessing this is why you chose me? Because you think I can handle it?"

"I originally had two choices, to be brutally honest," exclaimed the Kage with a small smile, "It was between you and the only other ANBU member and ninja of Konoha that could handle the job successfully. So then I thought: Tenzou, a current ANBU Black-Ops, or Hatake Kakashi, a _former_ ANBU Black-Ops."

"I see where Asuma gets his decision making from…" the one assumedly named Kakashi replied with a sigh.

The older man laughed at this before going silent again. After a couple more minutes of allowing the Hatake to look around, they left the boy's apartment in silence. Now, it was time to face the one small boy that had kept the village in fear for twelve years.

_°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸_

A black-haired, twelve-year-old boy snuck quick glances at the whiskered student sitting a seat away. They had never really talked before, but the student had seen what the blond could do, and he hated to admit it, but it horrified him. He was a monster. His eyes would flash crimson every time that certain _thrill_ would take him over. His canines would lengthen and his hair would become more savage and unruly than it was.

Yes, the boy had witnessed this walking home one rainy day when he was eight. The blond child had a grown man by the neck pressed firmly against a brick wall. The sight had the black-eyed boy frozen to his spot on the sidewalk. The guy that fell victim to him was missing an ear. Something dark drizzled down his chin and his neck was bleeding hectically from where the boy had him around the throat. His left upper arm was broken in such a way that the ends of where it was broken stabbed through the surface of his skin. To complete the pain was the overwhelmingly bruised skin and the deep cut that loomed over his left eye.

The one torturing him had an insane grin plastered to his face. After that, the other boy didn't witness the scene any further as he had taken off in the other direction as fast as his legs would allow.

And now, he was separated from this hot-blooded killer by one young, pink-haired kinoichi in training that seemed terrified of her position next to the blond. His thoughts were quickly cut off when their sensei called his name for the team he was being assigned to. He jumped in surprise before staring around wide-eyed at the brown-haired man. **(4)**

"Err… Excuse me, Iruka-sensei? I didn't catch what group I was in. Could you repeat that?" he requested suddenly.

This earned him a slightly confused glare from his teacher, "Hmm…? That doesn't seem like you, Sasuke. You don't usually drift off like that. Something troubling you?"

"Err… No, I'm fine… I kind of just dazed off for a moment," the student defended lightly.

"Well… Alright then… Uchiha Sasuke, you're in Group Seven with Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka repeated somewhat regretfully.

It took a moment for the names to process in Sasuke's mind. The name of the monstrous boy took the longest to understand. Uzumaki Naruto, the boy that had murdered so many people in his young life, was going to be his teammate. He snuck a quick glance at the two teammates who just so happened to sit directly to his right. The pink-haired girl was Sakura, who had, like every other girl in the Academy, swooned over him and his personality in such a way that it really grated on his nerves. But that didn't matter now. He looked passed her to the fox-like student that had somehow successfully killed many without detection. The boy seemed unfazed and indifferent in response to the assigning as he leaned back coolly in his chair and held his arms folded behind his spiky head.

What he wore only seemed to reflect his character. A black T-shirt under a dark-orange leather vest hugged his torso while long ribbons of white cloth wrapped around his forearms. Ebony pants that exposed half of his shin and long, black toe-shoes completed the outfit. **(5)**

He had a hauntingly blank expression and a nonchalant composure. He essentially looked kind of bored. His lids were drooped so low, it actually seemed as if he were asleep. Sasuke wished he hadn't noticed, but Naruto was unusually quiet today. Usually, he would add snide remarks and sarcastic insults anywhere he saw fit, especially when they could offend Iruka himself, but today, he hadn't said a word at all. This actually scared the Uchiha. When someone wasn't himself, no good would come of it.

Slowly, Iruka's words seemed to finally process in his mind, "And each three-man team will wait here together for their new jounin sensei. They will be the leader and commander of the group and you must follow their orders if you want to become respected shinobi yourselves. But until they come, why don't you take some time to get to know you're new fellow comrades? It's more than likely you'll be a good team if you're good friends as well."

Good friends? With _Naruto_? Ha! That was a good one! Why not slit his throat and toss him face-first into Hyuuga Hiashi while the man blew up over the blood suddenly on his shirt? Heh, Sasuke would _rather_ that than try to get to know Naruto. But when he looked over, he saw that the blond was making no such attempt. Instead, he seemed to be gazing intently into the abyss with half-lidded blue eyes while Sakura subconsciously scooted closer to the Uchiha. What surprised him further was that he wasn't bothered by it.

"Hey Sasuke-kun…" she greeted quietly as quick sea-green glances were shot at the boy to her right, "I… I guess we're teammates now."

He didn't answer. It seemed she was more flustered from her fear of Naruto then she was being close to her crush. She wasn't even blushing, but this Sasuke understood. Naruto could kill both of them without a second thought, no matter _how_ skilled the boy was.

"Would you, um… like to get something to, err… eat while we wait?" she inquired suddenly, her full attention on him this time.

Before he could answer, Naruto suddenly stood up without so much as a warning. He had shot up so quickly, nimbly and quietly, it didn't even look as if he were sitting in the first place. And before anyone could say or do anything else, he was out the door of the classroom to god-knows-where. Sakura must've witnessed what the blond could do as well since she was trembling by then. Sasuke honestly wanted to reach out and calm her with a gentle grip, but thought better of it.

Instead, he attempted to soothe her with a more subtle method, "Sakura… Don't be afraid of Naruto. He can't do anything under the watch of our jounin captain."

'_At least… I __hope__ he can't…_' was the thought that immediately came to mind. Nonetheless, she smiled graciously up at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while a red tint heated her cheeks. Great… Since there was nothing else there to keep her attention anymore, she would move into her fairytale faze and swoon over him once again.

Sure enough, she was squealing inside from the fact that he actually cared.

"Th-Thank you, Sasuke. That gave me the relief I needed…" she pointed out shyly.

Wait… Shyly? Hmm… It looked like she was still recovering from the blond's presence. Good, it meant less irritation coming his way.

_°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸_

So… This was his group? Kakashi looked from the small emerald-eyed girl to the pale, black-haired boy and then finally to the darkly clothed blond. He looked bored out of his mind, but they both knew he was contemplating about something. As he was usually to all meetings and scheduled conferences, Kakashi Hatake was late to pick up his team from the Academy. They were the last three inside the school, and he was almost sorry he hadn't gotten there sooner. The other two kids were probably terrified of being left alone with the golden-haired boy.

He finally looked up from his place on the fence and tried to look friendly, "So, why don't we start by introducing ourselves? This way, we'll have better communication and such with one another."

This earned a snort from Naruto's direction. The jounin ignored it effortlessly and looked to Sakura, "Why don't we start with you, Miss…?"

"Oh… Uh… My name's Haruno Sakura…" she greeted hurriedly as her attention was focused on the blond on the other side of Sasuke just a few seconds before.

'_I can see why…_' thought Kakashi as his eye quickly swept her hair **(6) **before turning to the next student, "How about you… You are…?"

"…" he didn't answer for a moment or two. His black eyes were blank, and he was glaring at nothing in particular, but Kakashi, being the patient man that he was, waited along with him until finally, the young boy answered, "Uchiha Sasuke…"

Kakashi's one visible eye nearly widened. So _this_ was one of the only two survivors from the slaughter of the Uchiha Clan. This was the younger brother of Uchiha Itachi, one of the most dangerous S ranked criminals in the Bingo Book. This boy's life must've been devastated after that. It took the jounin a moment or two before continuing the introduction.

"I see…" he replied blankly before landing his single gaze on the blond to his right, "And I'm certain that everyone here knows of you, Uzumaki Naruto."

There was mockingly weary sigh before said boy drawled out, "Yes, I guess so, Kakashi-senpai."

The man was actually slightly taken aback by the sudden response. He paused ever so slightly before replying, "So, you know of me as well? How well?"

"Hatake Kakashi, son of Hatake Sakumo, also known as Konoha's White Fang, and once a student under the Fourth Hokage. You're currently a twenty-seven year-old jounin master who was formerly an ANBU Black-Ops Commander. You graduated the Academy at age five and passed the Chuunin Exams at age six. You utilize over a thousand jutsu in gift of the sharingan eye you inherited from you're old teammate, Uchiha Obito and it has earned you the nickname, 'Copy Ninja Kakashi'. You're chronically late for most meetings, which mostly results from spending much time at the Grave Marker by the Training Field. Your birth date is September fifteenth and you have an O blood type. You have accelerated success in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Doujutsu and you're Sealing Knowledge is at it's peak." Naruto explained effortlessly before leaning back with a yawn.

Kakashi could've sworn he felt his eyebrow twitch dangerously after the explanation. How in the blue hell did he…? There was no possible way a twelve-year-old graduate could've figured that out all on his own, but then again, Naruto wasn't an ordinary boy. Much of that stuff was unknown to the people who were actually _closest_ to him, and yet, this young ninja could explain it without so much as a second thought. The other two stared in perplexity from the sudden knowledge, but remained quiet. It took a couple seconds of shock before the teacher gathered himself enough to respond.

"Well… If I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalking me…" he pointed out rather calmly, "But seeing as there was no way you could know that much from mere pursuit, I'd say you've done some research."

"I tend to want to know about who'll be trampling into my life, Kakashi-senpai." the student stated simply, but his eyes slightly narrowed into bluish slits.

"Well done… But from now on, call me 'Kakashi-sensei'. I _am_ you're new teacher after all." Kakashi passively answered while his arms crossed over his chest.

"Strictly speaking, Kakashi-_senpai_, you're the new team _leader_," the blond corrected in a state of boredom.

'_Smart ass…_' immediately ran through Sasuke's mind as he slightly glared over at his new teammate. But the former ANBU member retained his composure, "Yes, I guess so, huh? But I'm curious, does calling me senpai make you feel older or something?"

"…"

This time the narrowing of the younger boy's eyes was all too obvious. He didn't say anything, but another statement seemed to exist through his eyes, '_Watch it…_'

The other challenged him, '_Or what?_'

Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously.

'_Or you're going to beg for death before the end…_'

Kakashi's eyes actually hinted a bit of amusement, '_Hn… That sounds a little cliché. You and what army?_'

'_You'd just love to die, wouldn't you?_' Naruto almost growled.

There was a quick shrug.

'_Nah… You know, twenty-seven's a bit young…_'

There was a further narrowing of crystalline eyes.

'_It doesn't matter when you look thirty years older than you are._'

'_Now, if you're referring to the gray hair…_' Kakashi actually glared this time.

And meanwhile, the other two looked between sensei and student as the staring match kept on. **(7) **It wasn't long until Sasuke got a little impatient.

"What are you two doing?" he asked irritably.

This caught their attention almost immediately. Naruto regained his usual bored expression before leaning back again, paying the student no mind as Kakashi glanced at him curiously. It was another moment or two before someone spoke.

"My apologies, Sasuke, Sakura… I must've dazed off for the moment. What I really want to talk to you guys about would be the test in which I'll figure if you all are good enough to be shinobi…" he started plainly as he pretended to dust his vest off. While he said this, a swift statement came to mind, '_Really to find out more of Naruto's combative nature…_'

He glanced again at the murderer who seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment. If one just took a two-second glance at the boy, they'd probably think he was just another ordinary kid dying of boredom, that is, until they would look into his eyes. One feature completely gave his character away.

The dim gleam was enough to explain it all…

He had no dreams.

He had no drive.

His crystalline eyes were dark, dull and dead, at least, until they flashed a scarlet full of excitement and bloodlust. It was then, and _only_ then, that one would know he was really, truly _alive_…

* * *

**_So, how was it? A little violent, eh? And if you're minorly or majorly disturbed... GOOD! It means I'm doing well as a Horror author so far. I gave you fair warnings that it was going to have blood and gore. Oh, and if you don't know, the numbers placed throughout the story are just to point out a few things encase you don't completely understand._**

**_(1) In this story, he's already wearing the maroon suit he changed into after his fight with Naruto. I figured he wouldn't dress as darkly if he didn't think his purpose was to kill._**

**_(2) For the some that see the word "Sandaime" and immediately think "Sarutobi" I am not referring to the Third Hokage, but instead the Third Kazekage. The term can be correctly used for both._**

**_(3) In this story, why they invaded Konoha is a bit different from the reason used in the original Anime. In here, they were actually forced to do so because my Sand Yondaime is different than the Kazekage we all know. He's more understanding than evil and stupid._**

**_(4) Another root change in this story is that Iruka's parents did not die when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, therefore, he held no sympathy for Naruto and did not acknowledge him. Thus, causing the shunned boy to live in further solitude._**

**_(5) I thought Naruto wouldn't where such bright clothing if he didn't have as much motivation as he did with Iruka. So, I changed his wardrobe to something darker, but then, Naruto wouldn't be really Naruto if he didn't have on orange at all, so I gave him a dark orange vest. XD_**

**_(6) If you don't understand, Sakura means "Cherry Blossom" or something like that. And the reason Kakashi can see why she was named was for her pink hair. Get it? Huh? LoL... XP_**

**_(7) Don't tell me you've never held a conversation with merely your eyes, cause I have. It's quite fun, but takes a lot of practice. Originally, you have to really know the person you're holding eye contact with to understand the slightest meanings in their eyes. Naruto can do this with Kakashi for earlier obvious events._**

**_Wow... I know, I know. A LOT of number notes, but hey, I want my readers to fully understand what I mean. -rubs back of head- Does that make me a perfectionist? Anyway, read and review if you liked the first chapter!_**


	2. Ch2 Testing One's Patience

**_Hey guys. Sorry that it took a while. I was busy with the end of school and all the exams and crap. I don't think there's much to say about this chapter except the fact that I hope you enjoy it?? Okay, well... ...I hope you enjoy it._**

**_Oh, and I'd like to thank all those who reviewed. Honestly, I was not expecting ten reviews on the first chapter. So, thanks guys!_**

**Disclaimer:**

**Sasuke: You're just plain cruel... You make me look like a freaking pansy!**

**Naruto: -is trying not to laugh- Wow... I think she's my new hero.**

**Me: Chill out Sasuke. You only look like as much of a pansy as you did in the original bell test. It's the same basic principle.**

**Sasuke: But that only happened because the people that owned me told me to do it! You don't! You could've at least cut me some slack.**

**Me: Yeah, I could've... But the crap you're doing lately in the manga is beginning to piss me off... Sorry.**

**Sasuke: -growl-**

* * *

_**Chapter 2** _

**_Testing One's Patience_**

_**29 Days Earlier…**_

_**Fire Country, Konohagakure**_

Sasuke growled from his current position in the solid ground up to his neck. This guy was making a fool out of him! He glared up at the jounin kneeling by his seemingly severed head. Kakashi gave him a smiling eye before commenting intelligently on the situation.

"Now, now, Sasuke… Don't get too upset. You should know that the ground is far more interesting, up close,"

Oh, how the Uchiha wanted to bite his face off at that moment. He was messing with him, him and Sakura. She had probably been caught in some kind of obvious trap by now, like he had just so foolishly done. He growled loudly again at how the grown man was mocking him with his one visible facial feature. But, said grown man had something else entirely on his mind at the moment as he stood up to take a good look around the training field.

'_Now… Where is he?_' he thought dubiously, keeping his expression calm. He hadn't seen the boy ever since the start of the session in which the three had to acquire the two bells from him. He looked in all directions as Sasuke struggled at his feet, '_Where's Naruto?_'

Figuring that he wouldn't spot the blond from where he stood, he left the student in his state without much concern. Sakura was probably still passed out from the vision she had seen of a bloody and beaten Sasuke, courtesy of their new leader. He read a few more lines of his favorite book series, "Icha Icha" before slowly putting that away in his back pocket. It took a couple minutes of jumping and walking around, but he finally spotted the Jinchuuriki lying comfortably at the foot of a large tree with his hands folded behind his head. Kakashi sat on the branch above in a frog-like stance before he heard the blond's voice.

"Don't hover over me and don't stare at me…" he ordered coldly although he didn't open his eyes.

Kakashi blinked a couple times before dropping down onto the ground beside the boy and coolly leaning against the trunk, "Does my presence bother you?"

"Yes, Kakashi-senpai. It does," the boy answered nonchalantly.

"So… How is this layout treating you, kohai? Are you relaxed?" the sensei inquired lazily as he stared down the boy. He put a slight amount of emphasis on the response to 'senpai' that was 'kohai', knowing that this would piss the boy off since it would make him feel like the man was stating he was inferior.

And indeed, this caused the student to open an eye to glare slightly up at his team leader. He thought about roughly telling the man not to call him that or just plain killing him then and there all together, but thought better of it since he felt lazy and the shinobi would probably retort with something like, "Don't call me 'senpai'." Nevertheless, Naruto had no intention to argue with a man he barely even cared about, "Quite…"

Kakashi admired his indifferent nature. It's what he himself showed anytime he just plain wanted to.

"You know that if you fail to get these bells from me, you'll have to be sent back to the Academy that you find so irritating…" he pointed out dryly.

This actually caught the boy's attention before he looked up at the jounin, "Is that so? Will those two get in my way?"

"No… I'm pretty sure they're quite occupied at the moment…"

"Hn…" was the only noise Naruto made to show that he understood before standing up slowly

Kakashi actually took a few steps back, knowing full well what the boy was capable of. Naruto rubbed his neck as if there were some sort of pain in the vertebral bone before lolling it back in an attempt to release any stress he may have had. Finally, he shot a piercing azure look in the ninjas direction before giving him a small knowing smile.

"Kakashi-senpai? At the beginning of this insignificant exercise… You told me that the only way I'd get those stupid bells from you would be only if I tried with a killing instinct, right?" he asked astutely, not caring to acknowledged his teammates existence.

The Hatake immediately regretted ever giving those types of directions to a cold-blooded killer like Naruto. All around the village, people had been disappearing… And a good number of them were jounin; some of them particularly skilled. It was no doubt that the losses were somehow linked to Naruto. After a moment, he reluctantly nodded, his gray eyes no longer holding any amusement.

The Uzumaki's smile grew rather _too_ sadistically. He was probably feeling triumphant that he would be able to subtly get back at the man.

"Well… That may have been your biggest mistake yet, senpai…" he pointed out with a certain bone-chilling thrill to his voice. As he finished the sentence, Kakashi could hear the cracking of the boy's hands as they changed at his sides. Their structure grew longer and bonier after a few more sickening cracks and his nails grew dangerously sharper. The white-haired jounin witnessed the canines sharpen evidently in his grin, and his unruly hair took on a more savage appearance.

The fact that he could call upon this demon instinct on his own was impressive enough, but what really caught the sharingan user's eye was the sudden feeling that sprung to life in the blond's eyes. Before, they had no sign of the living whatsoever, and the sudden change had nearly scared the man. He backed up a couple more feet before reaching in his pack and taking out a kunai. No way was he going to block this kid's attacks with merely his arms.

"So, _sensei_… Are you ready?" the blond growled with his expression looking more and more insane each passing moment.

Kakashi kept a strong expression as he took a defensive stance with his weapon, "Come at me with all you've got, kohai…"

Naruto's expression relaxed a little before obliging. The ninja was shocked to say the least. The kid could move faster than he thought. He could barely see him, but he refused to use his sharingan eye, not for something like this…

He dodged most every swipe that came down. Some were dangerously close to making contact. Others, he had to block with his blade carefully. The Bijuu carrier was a blur of black, orange and gold. Finally, one stroke caught him in the side. His eye widened slightly from the two slashes that drizzled blood out without hesitation. The Uzumaki smirked slightly at this, but didn't allow his sensei any time to recover. He kicked him up into the air in his next move although the man blocked any damage with his arms. But the thing was, in the air, he was totally at the boy's mercy.

Sure enough, the twelve-year old swung a punch at his masked face, but Kakashi fortunately evaded the blow by using substitution. Instead, the student's fist broke a very thick log into splinters. He hissed slightly from being tricked before turning to where the jounin had popped up behind him. Instead of taking time to take in the reappearance, Naruto reacted quicker than Kakashi had ever seen from most ninja he had known. He whipped a harsh kick around, and this time, the assault connected. It made contact with Kakashi's shoulder, and he could've sworn he heard a deafening _crack_. His shoulder blade had probably fractured from the impact of the attack before he hit the ground. **(1)**

Yet again, Naruto wasted no time, but Kakashi showed him that he wasn't the only ninja who was quick to react. As the blond's next punch hit the suddenly vacant ground, Kakashi kicked him in the side after escaping the pain of another strike. Naruto skidded on the ground as he was forced away, but immediately regained his offensive stance. He was still smirking even though he had just made a mistake. The Hatake didn't let this surprise him while he mirrored the boy.

Immediately, they were thrown in the air in a series of blows and dodges as Naruto disappeared and reappeared in every direction possible. His speed was beyond amazing to the human eye. The sharingan wielder could barely keep up with his movements since he refused to use his doujutsu.

Naruto threw another powerful punch to add to the volley, and this time, Kakashi chose to deflect it with the metallic guard on his glove, which unfortunately came with an immediate consequence. Both were thrown back from the force of the clash, and the white-haired ninja instantly felt a few bones in his hand rupture. When both regained firm stances on the ground, he looked down at his glove only to widen his eyes in shock. The plate that had been on it was shattered, and some of the shards had fallen off already.

He breathed heavily from the session before looking up at the boy who stood and looked as if he hadn't even broken a sweat. He eyed the murderer wearily, "Excellent. I can't help but feel a bit curious, though… In all that, you never once made an effort to steal the prize from me."

"You mean that stupid bell? I took that a while ago, while you fell from that kick to the shoulder," the Uzumaki pointed out impassively before standing up a bit straighter.

Kakashi's eyes widened momentarily before he looked down at his belt. Sure enough, one of the two bells was missing and as he looked up, Naruto dangled the prize by his golden head with a lazy smile. His hand and teeth had already gone back to normal and Kakashi couldn't help but smile slightly in relief and satisfaction. **(2)**

"I'll say that I was impressed," the blond stated suddenly as he placed the bell indifferently in his vest pocket, "No one I've met could keep up with my movements as nimbly as you did without sharingan or something. Even though I have to say, I was holding back."

"As am I of you," the son of the White-Fang answered after widening his eye slightly from this piece of information, "You're the first student who could steal a bell from me. Ahem, I must admit that I was occupied with the force of your punches."

"Hn…"

The other's smile faded as he began walking to where the exercise had started. Kakashi hesitantly followed the genin to the three stumps before pointing at the food to the left.

"There's the food I promised… Feel free to dig in…"

"…" Naruto shot the objects a long, hard look before turning his head away and continuing to walk to the mini pillars, "I'm not hungry…"

Instead, the twelve-year-old lied down comfortably at the foot of the middle pillar in boredom. He watched the jounin under lazy lids. Meanwhile, Kakashi looked around to see where the other two teammates had snuck off. It wasn't long until Naruto witnessed an aerial attack on the sensei.

"_Fire Style: Fireball!_" **(3)**

Kakashi snapped his head up to see Sasuke blowing a large flame in his direction from above. Naruto watched impassively, knowing full well that the other two had no chance of getting the other bell from him even though he was fractured in a couple places. They were just simply no match for him. Then, Kakashi would fail them and they would be sent back to the Academy; not like the blond cared or anything.

Minutes of fighting passed by as Sakura fell back uselessly and Sasuke was pinned many times on the ground. It wasn't long until their leader let up a bit and let the two eat since he told them not to eat breakfast that morning. Besides, the bones that were cracked thanks to the young killer were starting to get to him. The team was supposed to retrieve the bells from him before sundown, and so far, Naruto was the only one that had succeeded. It was very close to that deadline, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel frustrated.

When they had finished and Kakashi had returned from wherever the heck he went, Sasuke stood up quickly, ready to finish what had started. He needed this if he was ever to avenge his clan. The punches were thrown before the man could really even make his way over. He blocked them quickly before the Uchiha growled. This went on for about another ten minutes or so as Sakura joined in the onslaught as well, although mainly acting as a decoy for Sasuke without meaning to. Kakashi held both off in a flurry of quick movements as Naruto watched in boredom. It wasn't long until frustration got to the fighting student.

"There's no way in hell that I'm giving up!" he yelled furiously as yet another hit was blocked by the jounin.

Kakashi smiled under his mask, "And that is why I'm letting you pass."

This made the boy cease his movements so quickly, that he fell back to the ground and dropped his battle stance, "What?"

The man looked down at the student with a smiling eye as Sakura stared in surprise from the other side of the ninja, "I learned something from an old friend a long, long time ago. The greatest ninja isn't the one that knows the most techniques or has the most skills. No, the greatest ninja is the one shinobi that has the _guts_ to never give up. All of you have shown me that, and it's why you all pass the test."

Sakura stared at the man from her position incredulously as Naruto sighed in annoyance before looking at the darkening sky. He realized that all three of them passing _was_ actually in his benefit. With the entire team, in one month, they could take the Chuunin Exams. One couldn't start without the entire team with him, and becoming a chuunin would give the genin more freedom. He thought it over for a long while as Kakashi talked with Sasuke and Sakura.

"In which I should say congratulations. You three are the first."

* * *

**_Present Time… _**

**_River Country, Near Katabami Kinzan (4-5)_**

Gaara let his gourd and pack drop indifferently as he watched his team make camp on the rocky hill. Baki started the fire as Temari and Kankurou laid out their sleeping bags. He didn't bother. He didn't sleep, why should he try to relax? He turned to his sensei after a moment.

"Baki-sensei?" he asked slowly.

"Hn?"

"I'll keep look out," the redhead answered monotonously.

His leader seemed to take a good, hard look at him for the next moment before shrugging and returning to the fire, "Alright, I see no problem in it. Just promise me you won't push yourself too hard…"

"How can I push myself? I don't feel exhaustion from wakefulness the way you do," the student pointed out with a little bit of confusion.

Baki tensed a bit before looking at the genin once more, "Sorry, that didn't come out the way I wanted it to."

"It's alright. I have no problem with it. I could use the time to think anyway…" the other answered with a slight shrug before sitting down and leaning back on his gourd.

His leader nodded briefly before feeding the fire a bit. His siblings made themselves comfortable on their cushions before gazing at the fire. Kankurou had taken off his eared hood and set it aside while Temari propped her head up over the elbow that rested on her fan. They were discussing something in a low tone so they were difficult to distinguish from Gaara's position, but he could tell by their expressions that it was about something serious. It was probably about the plan of the betrayal. Gaara agreed with them without question. He knew that this would not only make them lose one of their strongest allies of defense, but it would also label them as traitors and they would become untrustworthy to other villages as well.

He crossed his arms and thought deeply about the situation. They were one day away from getting to the Leaf Village, and the redhead couldn't help but feel a bit reluctant to go. He did not want to take any part in the scheme, but the encouragement of his father led him to do so.

The Chuunin Exams would not be too hard to get through, seeing as they were the three most skilled genin of their village. And though he had never told anyone but Temari, in which that was an accident anyway, he had a drive to succeed his father in becoming the Kazekage. The title would earn him the trust and respect of most all the village, and that is what he had sought the most throughout his life. Becoming a chuunin would bring him one step closer to his goal, thus, easing his reluctance. And even though he was informed that no one would become a chuunin this time around, many of the jounin in their village showed approval on their group, so it was more than likely that quite a few would recommend them for rank.

Gaara watched and waited as these thoughts rolled through his mind. He had no idea what Konoha was like; he knew nothing about it except the fact that it was in the Fire Country and that they were allies. He wondered what the genin of their village were like. He had always known they had powerful ninja, but just _how_ powerful?

He soon drifted quickly into his thoughts while watching the fire before him dance. Temari snuck a quick glance at him along with her sibling a couple yards away. Both bit their lips stressfully.

"Yeah…" Kankurou nodded quickly before they looked back at one another, "Baki-sensei told me before we left. He's another one."

"I heard there have been disappearances around Konoha for the past couple years, and several of them were jounin. A lot of people think it's related to him," His sister answered with a slight shutter.

"You know his name?" the boy asked dubiously.

She shook her head, "No… Just heard about him."

"Should we tell Gaara?" the puppeteer hesitantly started.

Temari seemed to take some time to think it over for the moment as she looked at the redhead again before shaking her head once more, "No… It's better he finds out on his own. He's already reluctant enough to go now, I don't want to pressure him more."

"Right," he agreed shortly while following her gaze.

Gaara seemed to be deep in thought. The two siblings wondered about what his thoughts were, but soon shrugged them off before drifting off to sleep. Their sensei sat and watched the fire intently as if the sight were one he hadn't seen before. A moment or two passed before the genin stood and made his way to the cliff hovering above the group. It was the perfect lookout site for him to watch over the others. The young ninja trekked to the top of it before sitting down and having his teal eyes scout the paths all around their camp.

And for the first time that day, he sighed heavily. This would be his last calm night before he his life would officially turn into chaos.

* * *

_**Present Time…**_

_**Fire Country, Konohagakure**_

The blond's eyes flashed scarlet as he stared blankly at the young woman he was effortlessly pinning down. She was sobbing profusely while her eyes shined up at him in fear. He was holding her down with a foot to her stomach while pulling her into the barrier with her wrist in his vice grip. His inhumane nails stabbed into her pale skin, causing her to shake violently in pain. Her shoulder was already bleeding liberally from where he clawed and her leg was actually shattered from where he smashed her against a wall.

It was always… _Always_ at night when this urge to murder was at its peak. The Jinchuuriki gave no attention to if it were a man, woman or even a child. He merely knew that he had to kill something, and at the same time torturing it as much as possible. The boy stared at his victim without pity.

In an act of desperation, she whispered, "Please… You don't have to do this…"

His eyes narrowed dangerously before shifting his grip on her wrist in one swift motion. The deafening crack of her bone told him enough that he had broken it without much effort. She bit her lip harshly in reaction to the pain that came, but kept her silence as more tears slid down her face.

"_Don't you dare try and tell me what the hell to do…_" Naruto spat before smirking slightly, "_So… How do __you__ feel? Being looked down upon with nothing but hate?_"

The woman stiffened a bit before looking at him again. Her lip had begun to bleed, but she ignored it. He growled at her hesitation before pressing harshly on her stomach with his foot. Her breath hitched from the action as she closed her eyes in pain before looking up again. Slowly but steadily, her mouth soon curved into a sad smile.

"I feel regret…" she started with a tearful motherly grin, "I regret that I was one of the one's who turned you into this…"

"_Why isn't this surprising?_" he replied loathingly as he stretched her arm a bit further.

Her eyes wavered a bit, but her smile didn't falter before she continued to whisper, "And I feel angry that no one tried to save you."

Naruto's eyes nearly widened, but he kept his composure steady. He didn't say anything as he stared at the woman's heart-warming smile. Finally, she closed her eyes and her smile turned into a benevolent grin. The boy could only stare.

"I'm sorry, Naruto…" she apologized quietly.

The blue-eyed boy's heart skipped a beat before thumping forcefully into his chest. No… This wasn't right… He was feeling something he had no knowledge of… Was it fear? The only fear he had ever felt in this life was to have a meaningless existence, but what was _this_ fear? It… Confused him. His mind was reeling, and his head stung. He ground his teeth harshly in reaction, and soon glared at the woman in hate and finally, his eyes took on the full shade of garnet.

"_Don't fucking mess with me…_" he snarled suddenly, but the arm that gripped her began shaking violently without his notice.

Her smile widened slightly at the achievement of stretching out to him before she closed her damp lids once more. So… The chance of saving him was still in reach. Now, in her mind, she wished her family and Konoha well. But most of all, her dying wish was for somebody… Anybody… To take that one chance, that one risk, and save this poor confused boy from destroying himself completely.

Not a moment after the wish was stated clearly in her mind, Naruto grinned sadistically before thrusting his free hand into her chest. She gasped shallowly as the appendage broke through her rib cage, pierced her lungs, and successfully grasped around her heart, but her smile still did not fade. Naruto did not hesitate. He crushed his grip around the faintly beating organ, and the woman finally let out a silent scream as her life-source exploded within her own chest. Still, the soft grin stayed, and Naruto stared at this feature for a long while after the woman died. He slowly pulled his crimson hand out of the warm body, but that one effect mesmerized him, and it was driving him insane.

Slowly, his features turned into an expression full of disgust before he tilted his head back and screamed at the heavens. His heart was hurting, and he didn't know why.

* * *

**_(1) As you should know, Kakashi may seem it, but he is not invincible. He is still a human capable of being wounded. And yes, in my story these people actually do have bones that can possibly be cracked (unlike Kabuto when he was hit with the full-fledged Rasengan and did not seem to have organs or anything in his body) I mean, the first time Naruto loosened Kyuubi's seal, he freaking broke unbreakable ice mirrors, I'm pretty sure if he hit Kakashi, something would break._**

**_(2) Relief because he did not have to fight the boy anymore and satisfaction I guess because someone finally passed his bell test._**

**_(3) In my Naruto stories, I simply refuse to include the words 'jutsu' or 'technique' when these guys use ninjutsu or something. For one, it sounds really gay and for another, I simply think it's ridiculous. Don't ask me why, because I won't give you an answer. Also, I don't want to use the Japanese versions of them because for some people, they don't have the memory to recognize Japanese names and their meanings (Me being one of them) so I just want to make things easier for them._**

**_(4) The River Country seperates the Wind Country from the Fire Country for the some that don't know._**

**_(5) Katabami Kinzan was a mining/town area introduced in one of the filler episodes of the Naruto Anime. It is one of the only known named locations in the River Country that has been introduced so far._**

**_Okay, those are all the noted explanations if you were a little confused on some parts. Again, there isn't much to say, except to say my friend got all teary eyed when she read the end of the chapter. Is it really that sad? Please Read and review and tell me what cha think!_**


	3. Ch3 At Eye's First Twitch

**_Hey guys, sorry for the two months of lateness -sweatdrop-  
I was kind of having writer's block for all my stories. But now I've finally started writing again. I promise the next chapter won't be near as late._**

Well here it is, that moment you all have been waiting for. Naruto and Gaara finally meet! And if you haven't noticed, I'm trying to make Naruto as frightening as Gaara was in the real story. So, forgive me if he seems a bit too powerful. Other than that, I don't have much else to say, so enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**

**Naruto: Hey guys, this is going to be the last disclaimer you're gonna see (\o/). From now on, in every other story Hemphisis writes, she's only going to disclaim once and it'll be in the prologue/first chapter because disclaiming every chapter is pretty pointless huh? So without further a due, Hemphasis Dragon does not own any content of Naruto whatsoever.**

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**_**  
At Eye's First Twitch**_

A young boy of eight flattened himself against the wooden fence in panic, hoping to keep in the shadows. He quickly pulled his two classmates with him without so much as a warning, nearly causing the pair to yelp in surprise before he slapped his hands over their mouths. He looked around the corner once more before sighing in relief and letting his hands drop. His female comrade growled impatiently from his lack of warning with her hands on her hips.

"Konohamaru-kun, at least warn us next time you choose to flatten Udon and me against a wall!" she huffed irritably.

Said boy sighed a bit once more, not letting his eyes slip from that spot around the corner, "Sorry, guys… But I couldn't help it, Moegi. _He_ was around the corner."

This actually caused the small girl to draw out a gasp while her hands immediately flew up to cover her mouth in shock. Her eyes spread wide simultaneously with the movement, "H-Him…? The fox?"

"Yeah," Konohamaru answered, finally turning to look at his two friends.

The boy named Udon sniffled evidently before pushing his abnormally large glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "But what would he be doing around the academy again? I heard he hated this place…"

The other two looked at him for a long time, mulling over the question in their minds carefully before Moegi suddenly piped up, "Aren't the Chuunin Exams about to start?"

"OH yeah! Genins nominated to take it get their applications today. Even those from neighboring villages take it," Konohamaru exclaimed in excitement, "Konoha's hosting it this year!"

"Hmm…"

Both turned to look at Udon once more from the small disruption. He looked back blankly as if what he were about to say was obvious, "That still doesn't explain why _he_ would be around here. Genins in the hosting village don't get their applications until noon. That's what Iruka-sensei told me."

Moegi and the other boy looked up toward the sky and blinked hesitantly before the girl finally queried, "Well, what time is it then?"

"I don't know, but that fox _has_ to be here for it! There's no other explanation!" Konohamaru pointed out once more before looking around the fence corner again.

"You know it's rude to talk about someone and act as if they're not listening…"

All three academy students froze in place when the statement reached their ears. That voice was known all too well around the village, and it struck fear into even the strongest jounin. And it had sounded directly above them. Terrified, the trio brought up enough strength to look up at the branch looming over them. Someone whiskered and blond looked back without the slightest expression. A small whimper was drawn from Moegi as all of the children stepped back in fright. In their minds, death was but one wrong move away.

Konohamaru was the first to stutter, "S-Sorry, Naruto-san. We were just-"

"You're pathetic…" the genin stated briskly before flipping off the branch and landing in front of the students, causing them to take a few more steps back, "I've seen you before… You're the Hokage's grandson, am I right? Pfft, some heir."

The boy took the blow to his pride head on and without regret. He'd rather be insulted and live to see tomorrow than stand up for himself and not live to see the following second. Their mentor, Ebisu-sensei, had always advised them to stay as far away from Naruto as possible, and now they had most likely just pissed him off.

Konohamaru could barely even respond while his friends shook helplessly behind him, "You're right. Of course, of course! You're always right, and we are truly sorry for talking about you but-"

"You're annoying," Naruto bit out suddenly, immediately causing Konohamaru's rambling to cease. He looked at each one of them with slightly narrowed eyes before taking one of the hands that had been shoved indifferently into his pockets and looking at it with vague interest, "You know what I do to the idiots that annoy me?"

"Hopefully nothing bad," Udon murmured quietly behind their leader. The others glanced at him before looking back at the boy in fear.

"Hope? Hope is weak," the older boy pointed out before lowering his hand, "You should've abandoned it when that insignificant brat opened his mouth."

He took a step toward them, causing Moegi to start crying silently behind the two boys. Konohamaru and Udon looked as though they were ready to run at any given moment, but their legs didn't seem to be listening to their minds. It was then that the most unlikely person ran up and jumped in front of the three children in frightened determination.

Naruto blinked without a change of expression, although his eyes lit up softly in an intrigued manner. He slowly lowered his hand and stared at his teammate with interest.

"Sakura, neh… I never would've _dreamed_ of facing _you_ here…" he spoke up lowly.

Said girl suppressed a shudder as she looked back into those cold eyes. Her arms hung outstretched in an attempt to shelter the kids from any harm. They were only children, so she would protect them from her teammate, even if she were helpless to fight the demon child. Her emerald eyes softened considerably. She looked as if she were about to cry, but still that hard on look of determination kept on her face. But really, would Naruto be seriously willing to attack three kids in broad daylight? She wasn't sure anymore.

"Naruto, please. They're only kids," she pleaded suddenly.

The boy looked back at her without so much as a blink in consideration, "Is there a point anywhere in that statement? If not, I advise you to step aside."

"Naruto, they've only begun their lives. Give them a chance to live them out," the girl answered quickly, "I won't let you harm them."

This actually caused a small chuckle to draw out of the boy as he crossed his arms, "Poor thing. You really are determined, aren't you? And you _are _one of the few who I don't really want to kill, so I'll consider letting you and those brats go. If you get farther than I care to follow, then you can live."

Sakura seemed speechless after this was said, but she didn't hesitate for long. She turned and ushered the small trio to run around the fence corner before following them closely. If there was one thing she knew about her teammate, it was that he stayed true to his word, no matter what it was. Even as immoral and malicious as he was, Naruto was _not _a liar. So the four had run. They had run as fast as they could. That is, until Konohamaru rounded the next corner and slammed into someone's leg. Falling back with a small 'oomph', Konohamaru rubbed the back of his head roughly before looking up at the barrier while the other three stopped behind him.

Two genin looked down at the Hokage's grandson in slight annoyance. Sakura observed quickly from their headbands that they were from Suna: a completely different village to the southwest. Still, the thought of Naruto finding them not very far from where they had left stayed in her mind, and she bit her lip anxiously as she looked at the foreign ninja. Not another moment passed before the one Konohamaru had slammed into growled down at the boy.

"That kind of hurt,"

Moegi and Sakura gasped slightly as the genin picked the boy up by his collar and glared at him expectantly, "I said, that _hurt_ you little shit."

"Ugh," the small student bit out as he kicked his legs in an attempt to escape, "No! Let go of me!"

"Stop it, Kankurou… You're going to get us yelled at," the girl beside the black-clad thirteen-year old pointed out irritably.

"It was my fault!" Sakura proclaimed suddenly, "I'm sorry. We were just messing around."

"But _he_ was the one who slammed into my leg," the genin named Kankurou answered curtly, "Therefore, the midget should apologize. Besides, I want to play around a bit before Gaara gets here."

"Stop! We're gonna get killed if you don't let go of me! He's after us!" Konohamaru shouted in his struggle. This caused both foreign genin to look at him with slight curiosity before something small collided with Kankurou's hand, "Son of a-!"

The kid fell to the ground as the rest of them looked up quickly. Sasuke glared back from his branch with another small rock in hand, "What are you bastards doing in this village?"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed in slight surprise as he crushed the pebble in his grip.

The foreign girl looked at him for a moment before a slight blush tinted her cheeks. Her supposed teammate narrowed his eyes at the boy as he held his wounded hand. Letting his hand drop to his side, he growled, "God, they just keep multiplying…"

"Get lost," the Uchiha ordered bluntly.

"You're just another midget that pisses me off. Get down here. I hate show-offs like you the most," the older boy replied with a small glare.

Sasuke growled slightly from the shot at his pride and flickered down to land in front of the foreign ninja. Standing up straight, he glared at the slightly older boy with malice. Behind him, Sakura shook slightly. Naruto was still a factor in this situation, and the four were only a single route away from where they just were. If they stayed here, Sasuke and two other genin who shouldn't even be in the village would get killed as well.

"I hate little punks like you that are rude. It makes me want to kill them, especially if they're midgets," the boy pointed out while fingering the strap that hung over his right shoulder.

Beside him, the blonde sighed in annoyance before turning the other way, "If they ask, I wasn't involved in this pointlessness."

"You're just a foreign bastard who shouldn't even be here. Don't challenge those who most likely might be stronger than you," Sasuke replied quickly.

The girl looked like she was about to answer before her teammate cut her off, "Our business shouldn't be a concern of yours. I'm not even sure you're worth telling. Leaf genin are weak."

"Hn, says the genin who just got bettered by a pebble," the other countered with a slight smirk.

"That's it you annoying little idiot. A punk like you should learn to-"

He was cut off as soon as a light flicker sprang to life directly between the two arguing genin. Both jumped back as another came to view, and Sasuke's eyes widened generously when he recognized who it was. He could hear Sakura run in front of the three academy students behind him protectively. He blinked when he heard the small 'Too late' sound from her lips. So… She _knew_ he was going to show up. What happened earlier?

"I must admit, I am a little disappointed. It looks like you didn't even _try_ to run," came the drawling voice as Naruto looked up at the four behind Sasuke, hands in his pockets, "And I have to say, I'm a little insulted as well. Get caught up flirting with Uchiha?"

"Wait, Naruto, please. We just ran into-"

"Eh, another punk ass midget here to piss me off? What the hell were you six doing anyway? Playing hide-and-seek? Really, Leaf genin are nothing but a bunch of jokes," Kankurou cut her off with his arms crossed, obviously annoyed.

Sasuke's gaze immediately averted to the boy with surpassing irritation. This guy had no idea who the hell he was talking about. With Naruto here, Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if he were killed in the next second, but yet, he didn't want blood on his conscience. Sure, they didn't have a good first impression, but Sasuke didn't know the guy well enough to let him die. At least they were safe at the moment. Not even Naruto would attack in broad daylight. So with grit teeth, he spoke up.

"Shutup, you idiot! You're eventually going to get us all killed!" he shouted angrily, avoiding his teammate's eye.

"Are you kidding? By _this_ kid? He's even shorter than you! What makes you even think he can touch me?" the other answered arrogantly before taking his left hand and making almost a pulling gesture with it.

For a split second, Naruto looked as if he were about to fall forward onto Sasuke, that is, until he disappeared in the next moment. Everyone blinked in shock while Sakura and Sasuke looked around blindly in fear. It was when the foreign girl visibly stiffened that Sasuke's eyes landed on the blond behind her.

"It's not the size that counts, you little shit."

The pair whirled around before jumping back to land on either side of the other two genin with a slight surprised yelp. Naruto stared at all of them with a bored expression. Sakura still stood protectively in front of the three who seemed too frightened to take the chance and run. Sasuke looked at his teammate in a ready position, prepared to protect the others and pull back if things were to go wrong. The other two were still winded from the sudden appearance.

"What the hell?" Kankurou muttered under his breath.

"That recovery and speed was inhuman…" his teammate stated lowly as she stared at the boy.

"Hn, I see what kept you Sakura. I'll let you and those brats live for having a convenient reason for not running very far. So, why don't I just kill these two in your stead?" he asked suddenly with a bit of venom tipping his tongue.

"Wait! Naruto! Be rational! They're not from this village! They don't know," Sasuke answered quickly while taking a step forward, "Besides, it's broad daylight."

"And why don't you shut the hell up? You're an _embarrassment_ to this village," the blond countered ruthlessly. His arms remained crossed as Konohamaru and his friends finally took his subtle permission to leave. Sakura remained where she stood, determined to help Sasuke if he needed aid, but she really wasn't sure how she could help against Naruto. The Jinchuuriki looked up with his bored stature unbroken, "Honestly, standing up for foreign genin that shouldn't even be here? That's laughable."

"Are all you Leaf genin this clueless? See the passes? We came here to take the Chuunin Exams," Kankurou spoke up with a small ferocity to his tone, "And now if you don't mind, I think I'll have some fun beating the shit out of this kid."

Sasuke and Sakura watched incredulously as the slightly older boy swung the small mummy-like figure on his back off his shoulder. Even his teammate shared the other two's expressions.

"You're going to use Karasu?" she asked in surprise.

"What the hell does it look like, Temari?" he responded impatiently.

"Kankurou, stop…"

The four turned to look behind them at a young redhead with a gourd hanging from his back. He was most likely the third member of their team. Both Sasuke and Sakura were a bit preoccupied with his darkly lined eyes to notice much else.

"Oh, hey Gaara…" the genin waved as if nothing of the slightest were happening.

Sasuke also took to mind that he hadn't even noticed the boy approach until he called out to his team member. His stealth was almost as good as Naruto's.

"Sorry to you guys," the one named Gaara nodded in both Sasuke's and Sakura's directions before walking to stand to the right of Temari. He nodded in Naruto's direction as well, but the blond didn't even seem to notice, "And to you."

There was a slight pause before he looked over at the boy who was currently replacing a ribbon-clad figure back onto his back, "We didn't come here to play around, Kankurou. In relation to what that Leaf genin said before, _you're_ starting to look like an embarrassment to _our_ village."

"Whoa, what?! Hey, I know why we're here, but that one kid started it!" he pointed out childishly.

"It doesn't matter who started it. You went along with it!" Temari spoke up in annoyance.

"You three are annoying…"

The abrupt interruption actually caused the team to jump slightly before turning to see the blond boy suddenly standing between his two team members. The three could scarcely believe it. He had moved four yards and straight passed them without so much as a warning. Gaara stared blankly at the genin. Who… was he?

"Sasuke, Sakura. Let's go… We have a mission, don't we?" Naruto began to ask before turning to leave, "Besides, I think I'm catching stupid."

This earned a small growl from Kankurou and a small smirk from Sasuke as he and the Haruno began to follow their teammate away from the other team, but it was someone's 'Hey! Wait!' that made them stop and turn. Naruto didn't. He merely stopped, slightly irritated already with this wasted time.

"What?" he asked impatiently as the slightly older sand ninja behind them stepped up with another growl. Kankurou took a small breath to follow up on his call before Gaara unexpectedly asked his question for him.

"Who are you?" he asked slowly, staring at the back of the boy's head.

Sasuke and Sakura didn't answer, knowing full well that the question was directed toward their teammate. Instead, they stood and waited patiently for Naruto's answer, but all they heard was a cold, growing snicker.

When his laughter died, he turned slightly to give the team a fanged grin, "You know, it's pretty rude to ask someone's name before giving your own…"

Both Kankurou and Temari's eyes visibly widened at the sudden unique trait to his grin. The aspect to the boy's character, added to his recovery and speed, pointed the two to the final answer as to who, and what, he was. The redhead himself let his expression break for the first time in years. His eye twitched from seeing the boy's sadistic smile, but he shoved it away as a small mistake. And it was hesitant, but Gaara finally replied to the boy, "Sabaku no Gaara."

Naruto's grin merely widened, "Uzumaki Naruto."

The redhead only nodded before the Leaf genin disappeared. Looking to his right, he observed Temari's gape. Looking to his left, Kankurou grit his teeth in shocked frustration. It was then he figured they knew something that he didn't. He had to admit, the grin threw him off when thinking he was a normal genin, but what sort of epiphany did it cause to have in his siblings? Knowing they probably wouldn't tell him at the moment, he settled the truth for later.

Meanwhile, three other genin sat and watched the entire thing from a shaded branch.

"So how about it?"

"There was a miscalculation. The Uchiha was assigned to the same group as the Kyuubi. This could prove difficult to reach him. And that one with the gourd had stealth similar to the Jinchuuriki. For now, we'll just have to keep an eye on them…"

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"You're late, Kakashi-senpai…"

"Forgive me, I got lost on the Road of Life," Kakashi answered with his favorite book in hand.

A seething Sakura glared up at their sensei impatiently, "Stop making us wait, you liar! Whatever the hell you're doing, do it when we're not supposed to meet up!"

Sasuke and Naruto leaned on the bench a good distance apart. Honestly, they had never been on good terms, but now Sasuke loathed the boy entirely, and Naruto scarcely cared. About a week ago, they had been tricked into taking an A-ranked mission that was said to be a C-rank after Naruto insulted the mission probing staff enough to piss them off psychologically.

They were assigned to escort an old man named Tazuna to the Wave Country so he could build a bridge to another island. The five ended up being tracked down by a hired former swordsman of the Hidden Mist named Zabuza. He and his apprentice, Haku, fought the team in order to assassinate the bridge builder. Naruto, impatient with their assaults, killed Haku in their final battle on the bridge Tazuna had been building after the apprentice nearly killed Sasuke. But after Haku spoke of his past, Naruto felt pain ram through his chest from their similarities, and soon after the boy's death, Naruto told Zabuza off for his cruelty. The man who had hired Zabuza in the first place, Gato, showed up to kill Tazuna himself. The reverse psychology Naruto had pressured onto the swordsman caused him to instead, kill Gato and several of his henchman although the multiple stabs Zabuza took had caused him to die anyway beside his apprentice. Naruto, unable to witness the feeling of love physically, began to walk away without so much as another word after telling Sasuke off for his weakness when fighting Haku.

And even in spite of the cruelty he had shown on that day, Tazuna had seen how Naruto converted Zabuza with only a few words and saved the rest of them from the battle. Thus, he named the bridge after the young blond without his notice, knowing that the title would bring his people luck.

And Sasuke couldn't help but feel inferior.

His life's goal was to destroy his brother, but with Naruto beside him, we couldn't help but _always_ feel insignificant. How could he hope to defeat his brother if his own teammate could take him down in no more than five moves?

But returning to the present, Kakashi looked at each one quickly before flipping out three sheets of paper. All three looked at this with slight confusion before Naruto suddenly spoke up.

"You nominated us to take the Chuunin Exams…" he pointed out mildly. He was slightly surprised. They were rookies. Not many fresh genin took the Chuunin Exams right away.

"Good observation, Naruto. Yes, I have in fact nominated you guys. Here are your applications…" he answered with a small smile shining in his eye.

Each took one hesitantly before looking over the sheets. Their expressions even seemed cautious. Kakashi opened his mouth to begin explaining the situation.

"Whether or not you want to take it is up to you three individually. If you do, sign the application and turn it in to room 301 at the ninja academy tomorrow at four. Take your time and think about it, guys. This was only a nomination," he informed placidly before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke thought hard about it as they began to leave. Maybe he would be able to fight Kankurou, or even Gaara. Sakura, on the other hand, lagged behind a bit as the boys walked on in silence. She could barely keep up with Sasuke and could barely even dream of keeping up with Naruto. Would she even have a chance to pass? She walked on reluctantly.

* * *

_**The Next Day…**_

"This is the second floor…"

Naruto kept his eyes on the group of genin a couple yards ahead before shrugging. Sasuke looked up at the sign quickly after Sakura pointed the Genjutsu out. So, they were giving a pretest to those choosing to take the exam. The team resumed their stride until finally joining the group, Sasuke leading the other two a step ahead. They came just in time to observe a genin clad in green being knocked away from the illusion-induced room labeled "301". Two genin standing in front of the room with smirks glared down at the others with disgust.

"Weak…" one pointed out shrilly, "The Chuunin Exams aren't a game. What makes you think little punks like you can pass?"

"The way you're beating them around, you'd think it _were_ a game," Sasuke spoke up with a slight smirk.

Everyone turned to stare at the team before a majority of the genin backed up after having the Uzumaki catch their eye. One team of genin and the two guarding the door stood their ground as Sasuke glanced at the sign once more. The other remaining team, which included the green clad ninja, looked back at them in curiosity.

"You can cut the crap now. Remove the illusion and let us pass," the Uchiha ordered placidly. Turning his head slightly, he winked at his pink-haired teammate for informing him of the Genjutsu. She seemed a bit shocked at the gesture before her cheeks were quickly tinted with the color of her hair. He looked over at the two who were recently beating the other genin back, "This is the second floor."

There was a pause before a rumble of chat immediately rose up from the crowd that had backed away earlier. It wasn't long before Naruto grew impatient.

"If you won't get out of the way, then I'll just have to make you…" he hissed before slowly before removing a clawed hand from his pocket.

"N-No, that's alright. You can pass," the two spoke up defensively before letting the Genjutsu break.

Naruto actually gave them a disappointed look before replacing his hand and striding passed with his teammates following, "You people get less fun everyday…"

The team who had recently stood their ground looked after the team with interest. The boy with long hair actually seemed a bit winded. With only a small movement, that blond child was able to get passed. Who was he? Apparently, he wasn't to be messed with, and that look his teammate's eyes made him turn immediately.

"Lee, don't try it. That boy isn't a normal genin," he ordered sternly.

The boy looked back in frustration, "With only a single gesture, those two did not even hesitate in letting him pass. Who is he, exactly?"

"Yeah, Neji. It looks like they were a rookie team. You ever seen them before?" the single girl on their team queried suddenly.

"That was Kakashi-sensei's team," Neji finally answered. The other two looked at him in curiosity.

"How'd you guess?" she asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

"Gai-sensei described them to us a couple days ago…" he answered regally before following the team to the third floor as the other genin trailed behind.

"That is correct! Meaning that one genin must be Uchiha Sasuke, the last of his clan," Lee piped up with excitement, "I wonder what it would be like to be involved in a clash of youth with him! The adrenaline would be outstanding to fight with the legendary Uchiha bloodline! Maybe I should go ahead and-"

"Lee! Neji just told you not to try it. You're not going to get him alone with his teammates around. And that one guy… There's something just not right about him…" the girl spoke up before trailing off hesitantly, "Something about his eyes…"

"Yes… I saw it too," Neji added as they walked.

Lee looked at the both of them before sighing in defeat, "You are right, Tenten-san. It will be a fight saved for another time."

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"So, you're saying if I chose not to take it, Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't have been able to either?" Sakura asked suddenly.

'_I'm not so sure that would've been a bad thing,_' Sasuke thought suddenly before looking over at the blond, '_I mean… If Naruto becomes a chuunin, he'll have more freedom than he already has. Already, no one in this village can really touch him. If someone were sent to assassinate him, it would backfire the moment he sensed them. Naruto kills at will. People have been disappearing, and there's not really anything we can do about it. The Third even refuses to send assassins after him, and I'm not even sure why. Surely, there has to be someone out there who could beat Naruto…_'

His thoughts were cut off quickly from his sensei's sudden remark, "With all of you willingly taking the exam, you are now able to take it as a group. Take it as my proud team. You guys are my soldiers, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now go!"

Sasuke blinked, '_Are you serious?'_

Kakashi looked back with his eye in an upturned 'u', '_Dead serious._'

With that, the team strode passed their sensei and into the room, where a plethora of rival genin sat and waited.

* * *

Gaara observed the other genin with lazy eyes. Kankurou and Temari were conversing quickly a couple feet behind him. Their words were panicked and hushed. They had been talking ever since that moment outside of the academy yesterday morning. Something about those Leaf genin had them anxious about the exam, and Gaara was tired of being kept in the dark. He turned around and walked over to his siblings with a raised hairless brow.

"What are you two talking about?"

The pair immediately hushed as their brother joined them. Kankurou stared in mild surprise as Temari shifted her eyes away with an expression of guilt. These reactions peaked his curiosity further before he crossed his arms.

"Well…?" he asked patiently, "Something about those Leaf genin has you uneasy, and I want to know what."

Both looked at him with grit teeth. It seemed that whatever guilt was washing over them, they were failing to hide it. He narrowed his darkly lined eyes at their hesitation before speaking once more, "Is it about him? Uzumaki Naruto? You know something…"

Both eyes snapped up to meet Gaara's teal ones before deep sighs sounded, "Yes, Gaara. It's about him…"

"I noticed he was not a normal ninja. But if that one aspect has had you talking for two days straight, I would like to know what you know."

"Gaara, it's kind of hard to explain," Kankurou pointed out as he rubbed the back of his headdress.

"Then explain it in the best way that you can," the redhead replied without missing a beat.

There was another sigh before Temari spoke up, "Well, as you know, the tailed demon, Shukaku, was sealed within you as a baby right?"

His eyes narrowed further before merely giving her a nod.

"Well, Shukaku-"

"**Quiet down, you worthless bastards!**"

Everyone in the room turned as soon as the smoke filled the room. There were quite a few coughs and gags before the smoke cleared. Gaara kept silent, clearly frustrated that he would not be able to hear what his siblings were going to say until much later. Turning to look over his shoulder at the coughing pair, he narrowed his eyes before muttering, "We'll talk later…"

There were two nods before he looked back through the clearing smoke. At the front of the room, a horde of ninja clothed in gray stood with a scarred muscular man in front. He smirked at them all before lowering his head a bit.

"I should thank you for waiting… I'm Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the Chuunin Exams' first test, in which we will now take," he stated with his grin growing, "Excuse me, but you will not be seated in this room as you are. Instead, all of you will draw a numbered tab and be seated in the position assigned to you before the test papers are passed out."

Gaara sighed. What kind of test was this? A chuunin did not write out much paperwork or anything, so what was the point? What questions could they possibly ask that could not be answered physically? He heard his siblings sigh along with him before they lined up to draw tabs. He lined up behind his siblings, but what caught his eye was the genin two people behind him. Uzumaki Naruto. He had that same look in his eye as before, and Gaara recognized it well. He had once held the same look, and he couldn't even say it was even a look, because it was one that was dead.

His eye twitched in memory before quickly whipping around to look straight ahead.

* * *

**_Well, how was it? Naruto didn't seem too threatening, did he? I hope not. I don't want to have this story become extreme. Well, like Gaara, I won't let him attack in broad daylight, so don't worry on that. I know this chapter probably wasn't worth the wait, but I'm really sorry! The other will be sooner._**

**_Heh, no number notes this time around.. So if you didn't understand something, just tell me._**

_**Review please!**_


	4. Ch4 Anxiously Familiar

**_Hey ya'll. Now yeah, I know I said last time that it wouldn't take half as long to update, but it kind of ended up taking two thirds as long, heh... Anywho, I know you've been waiting for another chapter and finally another one is up. I'll be trying to get them up faster and push around my schoolwork and such so you guys don't have to wait so long, aiight? But yeah, other than that, I have nothing much to say, so enjoy!  
_**

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

_** Anxiously Familiar**_

Gaara stared at the woman as if she were a two-headed freak. Her eerie grin caught him off guard, and her sudden entrance nearly made half the room fall off their chairs in surprise. The examiner he had come to know as Morino Ibiki glared irritably from behind the banner she had jumped in with. She had claimed to be their second stage examiner, and honestly, Gaara was not looking forward to it. She was too loud…

"You have excruciatingly bad timing, Anko…" Ibiki growled as he stepped back into view.

Said chuunin examiner glanced back at him rebelliously before looking back at the genin filled room with a small frown, "Seventy-eight got passed? What the hell, Ibiki!? What did you even put on that test?"

"Heh, let's just say a lot this year have the ability to pass this time," the man shrugged with a slight grin.

Anko snorted with a twist of her head as her hands rested on her hips in annoyance, "Pfft, whatever. There won't be half as many anyone once I'm through with 'em!"

Gaara raised a nonexistent brow.

* * *

"Che, all this talk is getting annoying…" Naruto growled as he crossed his arms.

This earned him a momentary glance from the chuunin examiner as she strode through the crowd of genin. Her eyes settled on him for a quite a while before a small smirk curved her lips, "Hn."

She turned and continued her stride in the next moment, as if the eye contact had not happened at all, but her thoughts said otherwise, '_Uzumaki Naruto, huh? Heh, I'm liking him already._'

Meanwhile, Sasuke studied every trait he could observe of the caged forest in front of him. The arena seemed to be about twenty kilometers in diameter. A river ran through it, more than likely for survival purposes. The trees looked ghostly. Something told him that anything but the natural dwelled under that canopy. He grimaced.

"Anyway!" a booming voice interrupted his examination, "It's time for you guys to fill out a form! Don't worry, it's not difficult, it's just… people die in this exam. This form is an agreement that declares I won't be responsible for 'em. Fair's fair, right?"

Anko grinned crookedly as everyone stared, but even then Sasuke and Naruto had to smirk a bit. She was a smart woman. She didn't move to pass them out yet, so everyone waited silently, knowing she had something else to explain, "But whatever, right? You can sign that crap later… Now I'll just explain the test so you guys can get a feel for it all…"

And that's where Naruto's mind drifted off in dead boredom. Honestly, everything Anko said had nothing that kept him interested. He caught a few words, but he barely cared to really even understand them, '_Something… Something… Ultimate survival… Something… Take place… Practice Arena Forty-Four… Something… Something… Something… Big ass tower…_'

He yawned indifferently as Sasuke and Sakura seemed to be listening intently to the rules beside him. Naruto snorted.

'_Something… Certain task… No rules… Scroll battle… Something… Something… Something… Something… "Heaven" and "Earth" scrolls… Something… Thirteen of each… Half will fail…_'

Okay yeah… He was pretty much tuning her out. So instead, he decided to look around at the competition. Seeing all the nervous expressions almost made him laugh out loud. God, they were pathetic. The time limit she had just been talking about had no affect on him. It was all too easy to simply kill a team and take whatever the hell they had to take.

"And the other rule for disqualification… You can _not_ look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower," Anko's statement processed in his mind suddenly.

Maybe it was because she had moved directly beside him. He tilted his head to look up at her curiously, almost challengingly, "And what if we do?"

She looked back with a slight grin, "Pfft, try _not_ to find out."

Naruto growled. She blatantly refused to answer his question, which caused him to be a bit ticked off as she strode confidently away. That's it. She just made his list.

* * *

Sasuke groaned. It wasn't looking too good for him and Sakura. The woman had successfully separated them from Naruto without breaking a sweat. **(1) **The Uchiha had been pretty much depending on the Jinchuuriki's instincts to get them through the test. It was selfish of him, he had to admit, but he didn't have time to mess around and play ninja with all these kids. He had to get through these exams as quickly as possible, but now Naruto wasn't here to speed up the process. Now, it all relied on Sasuke.

Sakura was still shaking as his hand covered her mouth nervously. They were hiding behind the trunk of a tree, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel like a coward. But they had to run. There was no way they could fight someone like _her_.

"Mmfff! _**Sasuke-kun**_! _**Snake**_!"

"Shit…"

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Naruto stalked through the forest in boredom. He figured he'd let Sasuke and Sakura fight on their own. He didn't have time to baby them, so when they got separated by that snake, Naruto killed it immediately and snuck off without so much as a warning. He wanted that "Earth" scroll, _now_.

It was then a team of Ame-ninja caught his eye in the distance. They were setting traps to capture unsuspecting teams as they flew by; gathering scrolls the subtle way. He almost smirked.

"Too easy," he muttered as he strode in their direction. They obviously weren't close range fighters, but most likely Genjutsu types, which Naruto wasn't prone to fall for with his sinister eyes.

In the next moment, he disappeared with the three Rain ninja oblivious to his threatening chakra signature. The leading one murmured orders without focusing on his surroundings. He breathed heavily through the steel aperture covering his mouth before having a slight rustle of leaves sound closely behind him.

He spun around vigilantly with a kunai out and ready, but no presence met his gaze, nor could he feel one. So, shrugging in discontent after a moment, he turned back around to continue tending to the traps they were setting up. At least, until the same sound caused him to glance at the patch of bushes to his right. He lifted his kunai again, paranoid.

'_Is it a squirrel or something?_' the genin thought hesitantly.

Another rustle and the kunai was thrown without a second thought. His ears caught a dull thud of metal against ground before more movements were heard behind him, making the ninja throw another. Someone was messing with him, and it didn't take his teammates long to notice his struggle. At every crackle and hiss, the three of them threw their weapons, but to no success. They weren't hitting anything, and it was beginning to have them scared of what was out there.

Another movement, and the last knife was jerked in the direction they were pretty sure the sound came from, but this time, a tan hand jutted out and caught it before it could even disappear into the greenery. A golden head slowly emerged in front of the dubious group, a maniacal grin set on his face.

"I'd give you a hint that using all your weapons on an enemy you can't even see is pretty damn stupid, but you won't have a chance to look back on it later, would you?" Naruto began with his canines already growing.

The three stared in shock. What _was_ he? Nevertheless, they didn't let their guard down, and the leader smacked his hands together immediately in defense, "Haha… For an idiotic midget, you have some nerve to underestimate us! _Ninja Art: Haze Clones_!"

About sixty or so clones rose from the ground, surrounding Naruto in the next minute. Looking around at them all, he only sighed, "Heh, tell you what… If I can't beat the shit out of you three with my right arm alone, I'll pretty much lead you to my team and give you our "Heaven" scroll without a fight. How 'bout it?"

"I'd say we have a deal," the Ame genin replied before attacking him from behind without warning, "But don't get cocky!"

Time almost stopped for the blond. They were in _his_ world now, and they wouldn't be getting out. Every gesture, every blink did not go unheeded by the Leaf genin. Nothing they did went without detection. His hands had already changed at his sides, and his eyes were already scarlet. Naruto smiled all too ominously before dropping the kunai he recently acquired, spinning around, and grabbing the victim's neck in a death grip at the last second. Claws were hooked within the ninja's neck without much effort. He had been foolish enough to expose his real self on the spot, and Naruto guessed he did because the clones the group had created weren't solid.

Knowing this, Naruto grinned dangerously up at the stranger in his grasp, "_I wouldn't even dream of it…_"

Blood curled around his fingers before the genin threw the other harshly into a nearby tree. Another team member instantly came and attacked him from the side after seeing this, attempting to hide his assault behind a clone, but the Uzumaki caught this without much difficulty. Ducking as the foreign ninja dove for him, Naruto shot his hand up and thrust it into his abdomen. His fist vanished within the next split second, scarlet liquid coating his arm desperately. The Rain ninja gasped in shock and pain as Naruto's fingers tickled the bottom arch of his ribcage. The blond lowered him down until his feet touched the ground and they stood face to face before giving him a blood-curdling grin. Then flexing his fingers with a jerk, a deafening crack was heard before Naruto sent him spinning into a tree trunk twenty yards off. The last teammate hissed, biting down his fear, before sprinting at the young killer in vengeance. The clones camouflaged his attack from amateur eyes, but Naruto's sight was far from untrained. His orbs glinted crimson ever so slightly before Naruto spun his body out of his opponent's way at the last moment. Then as the genin was thrown by his own weight passed the other boy, the Leaf ninja struck his jugular vein with a bloody hand.

The blow was enough to make his throat bleed internally, and Naruto could care less. Instead, he strode casually over to the leading Rain genin, still breathing hoarsely from his neck nearly being crushed, and fished out what seemed to be an "Earth" scroll. Naruto looked it up and down suspiciously before smiling slightly in satisfaction and hiding the scroll within his left pants pocket. He glanced down at the three genin half alive and gasping for breath on the floor around him before snorting in disgust, rubbing the blood on his right hand off onto a nearby tree.

"Weak…" he growled in dissatisfaction before stalking off with his features already returned to normal.

He didn't walk ten yards before coming to a slow halt, a small smirk gracing his expression. Glancing around at the vacant landscape surrounding him, Naruto's eyes glinted a sinister red that allowed him to see every fine detail around his position, and soon brushing off his shoulder, he patted the pocket the "Earth" scroll resided in and grinned even wider.

"If you want something, it'd be better if you say so," Naruto began as he identified the six chakra signatures present carefully, "It's the dickless bastards that piss me off…"

"And hearing the beatings of your hearts, it's not hard to figure out what you're thinking," he could feel the signatures twitch and fidget in shock and only smiled again. The blond took a couple steps toward a patch of brush before sighing in disappointment, "You know… When a heart beats faster, it's not just the breathing that follows the pattern desperately; the vein in the throat is pushed with the most stress. The muscles within its walls tense, and the channel inside it becomes swollen and small. I'm not surprised if you know this already. It causes the need to cough so that it can open the vein back up, but that's not why it's my favorite fucking vein to rip out of the people I kill. Oh no… It touches nearly every vital organ in the human body in some way, and like how the spine is the pillar that holds your skeleton together, that jugular vein is the gateway all the other organs depend on the most."

He paused for a moment, letting the information sink in for the six he could sense near him. He could hear their breathing getting faster; their bodily functions matching those that he had just described. Three of them were only a few feet away from his grasp, and they knew it.

"_And you know what happens when that gateway is suddenly ripped out?_" he asked suddenly, raising an eyebrow to no one in particular, "_That insane amount of pain racking your body is the most anyone can possibly feel in their lifetime. Five seconds of mutilation turns into hours of suffering within the mentality of the person. But hey…_"

The killer was suddenly gone in a flicker of movement. The blond soon reappeared in front of the team he was not nearby earlier, hands resting serenely in his pockets. Naruto looked from the cerulean haired girl to the canine induced boy until his gaze finally rested on the genin he recognized from the Aburame Clan. They were in his class at the academy, he noticed, but made no sign that he had.

"_What should I know…? It's not like I've been there,_" he finished sadistically.

The small dog with them shivered uncontrollably in his master's jacket along with the kinoichi to the blond's left. The two brunets looked up with fear flickering in their dark eyes. Yes, he knew every single one of them. From left to right sat Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Naruto looked like he was about to continue with something else, but never had the chance. A female scream was heard in the distance, and the genin immediately recognized the syllables in his name. Sakura and Sasuke weren't too far, and the girl seemed pretty desperate for his help.

Cocking his head a little bit, the Jinchuuriki sighed irritably, glaring down at the team he was so sure he would have the pleasure of ripping apart. After another call for aid, Naruto took a step back to return, but before he did so, he saluted them all with a fake grin, "_We'll talk later…_"

And in the next moment, he was gone.

Kiba's shock was evident after Naruto departed. He was amazed his dog Akamaru didn't relieve himself on the Inuzuka from sheer horror, because he wasn't so sure that he himself didn't.

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Gaara heard his siblings let out the breaths of air they had been holding, but he refused to relax just yet. In fact, he hadn't even noticed he wasn't breathing. That genin, that _killer_ was probably the most horrifying person he knew, but it wasn't the fact that the blond was a mass murderer; it was because of the actions he was taking. The similarities between what that blond was now and what Gaara expected himself to become were painstakingly accurate. What if _he_ had become that? Would he kill most everyone who would get too close in his village? Would he be so cold and unable to feel any emotion other than hate? …Would he be that _powerful_?

The thought made him shiver. Everything he had just witnessed was anxiously familiar, and the Uzumaki was hovering right over them as he discussed how horrible physical pain could really be, but even though it seemed that's all the blond was explaining, Gaara could decipher the hidden explanations. Naruto wasn't just describing physical torment, he was reminiscing on some sort of mental pain he had felt in his past. Pain only Gaara himself could understand.

He had the same look in his eyes.

"_Gaara_!"

The redhead jumped as his siblings practically called his name in his ear. His spun his head around to gaze at them as if they were the two most unfamiliar people in the world. Kankurou prodded him gently in the shoulder in attempt to snap his little brother out of his recent trance.

"You alright? He's gone now. You can breathe…" he proclaimed somewhat dubiously still.

The boy let out the breath he had not noticed he was holding before blinking up at the both of them. They were the two that had acknowledged him. His family that saved him from himself; saved the genin from becoming _him_.

And for a rare moment in his life, Gaara was obliged to let them know _he_ acknowledged that.

"Thank you, Aniki… Aneki…"

Temari and Kankurou sat speechless.

* * *

Naruto growled irritably for the umpteenth time. He was truly surprised when Sakura had the courage to call him for help, but that surprise had not shown in the slightest. Their situation had been understandable. True, the blond had not been there for the fight or saw the woman they were fighting, but the look in Sakura's eyes when she explained it was sincere. He snorted when the girl claimed the killing intent in the woman's eyes was almost as bad as Naruto's. And scoffed when the pink-haired kinoichi requested help carrying an unconscious Sasuke. Nonetheless, he led Sakura to the nearest shelter they could find with Sasuke on his back before taking a seat a couple yards outside. Sakura made sure to keep her distance, knowing the blond was pretty much ticked off that the group had lost their "Heaven" scroll.

After a moment or two, Naruto left without another word, leaving the girl to fend for herself and the subconscious Uchiha next to her. To her ignorance though, she had no idea Naruto was still with her, using herself and the boy as sitting bait for other genin to come after. So instead, Sakura focused on setting up traps around the tree they were sheltered under.

As she finished, she returned to treating Sasuke, her eyes glancing at the new triple-marked insignia on his collarbone. That genin, that _thing_ that attacked the pair earlier was no ordinary ninja.

"…Orochimaru…" she sounded, the syllables slithering off her tongue in disgust, "…Parting gift…"

Sakura looked to the mark again and grimaced. A curse seal… But exactly _what_ was it doing to her teammate? Sasuke seemed fine. The pain he felt earlier was subsiding and only hints of it were made through slight shivers. Nonetheless, the Haruno frowned once more.

"Sasuke-kun… You're gonna be all right. I'm here. I'll protect you. You just… relax. You'll be fine," she began softly, soaking his head with a hot moist towel, "Hang in there, Sasuke-kun."

The small rustles of an approaching rodent made her jump and cease her futile soothing. Her kunai was already out and ready, but she hesitated as she saw a small squirrel run toward their shelter. The kinoichi let out a small sigh of relief before an epiphany hit her, and she threw her weapon immediately before the mammal could get any closer. Frightened by her sudden assault, it retreated the other way without a second thought. Sakura sighed in relief once again as her trap remained unfound.

"That was close," she frowned again before glancing at her unconscious teammate.

"Not close enough if you ask me."

Sakura whipped her head around to see three ninja with headband insignias she couldn't recognize. **(2) **They were obviously from a newly found village. She held her breath. Defending her teammate alone was not part of her agenda.

"Do us a favor and wake up Sasuke-kun for us. It's time to bring his life to an end. It's nothing personal, we're just following orders…" the one in the middle continued curtly.

"That… That note on your forehead protectors… You're the Sound aren't you?!" the pink-haired ninja exclaimed suddenly, "You're Orochimaru's cronies! What the hell did he do to Sasuke-kun with that mark? Why fight him if he's already out cold?!"

There was a brief widening of eyes before the same Sound ninja spoke up once more, "Hm, he's thinking something strange, isn't he?"

"Either way, we have orders," the male ninja on his right interrupted suddenly, "I'll kill these bastards in one move."

"Easy, Zakku," the other stopped him, "Go too fast and certain things that go unnoticed will cause your downfall."

After he said this, the genin lifted the patch of grass to reveal one of the many booby traps Sakura had planted. She grit her teeth in response. Her plan to protect Sasuke was failing quickly. And all in the meantime, Naruto watched from afar; only encouraged to make any sort of move when he thought it was needed. He was curious to see how this girl could manage against three obviously experienced ninja.

* * *

There was no way he could deny it.

Naruto was _impressed_.

Not in any lifetime would he ever imagine Sasuke having _that_ sort of power. In five minutes at most, he took out all three of the Sound ninja. Sakura and a boy named Lee sat badly beaten a couple yards away with Team Twelve and Lee's team standing a ways away in shock.

The marks of an evil seal covered the Uchiha's entire body, and by this time, Naruto was smiling maniacally from the show. A sickening _**SNAP**_ sounded and the blond even laughed in amusement. The Sound ninja known as Zakku fell to the ground with his arms stretched and broken. The kinoichi known as Kin had already been maimed before Sasuke awoke. Now all that was left was-

"_You_…" Sasuke drawled out in a poisonous hiss, "_You're next_…"

The last foreign ninja known as Dosu widened his eyes in fear. He could sense the boy's immense power, and he wasn't all too favorable of the idea of being beaten like a rag doll, but he had no chance to run. He couldn't escape. The boy was taking slow, careful steps toward him, and he had no idea how to defend himself against this… This _monster_.

"_Being the head bastard of that team, I hope you'll be a bit more interesting to fight,_" the Leaf genin pressed with a fanatical grin. His eyes were wide with a lust for power, and his chakra was whipping about without restraint.

And Sakura could feel herself begin to cry.

"Sasuke-kun…"

This wasn't the boy she knew. This was a sinister embodiment of that damned mark. Somehow, the genin she knew and loved was being pushed away, and she couldn't endure the sight.

"STOP!"

And just like that, Naruto's joy and excitement came to an end as the Haruno embraced the cursed boy with all her strength. Sasuke, too taken by surprise, only froze in her arms. Sakura cried into his shoulder without hesitation. She wanted her teammate back.

"Please…"

Slowly but surely, the curse mark began to recede, and Sasuke's skin began to return to normal. His eyes lost their sharingan insight, and soon he fell back on the ground in exhaustion. Sakura kept her arms around him with tears still running down her face. All the other Leaf teams merely stared in even deeper shock than before, and Dosu was left to sigh in relief.

"It seems I miscalculated again. You are indeed strong, Sasuke-kun," he withdrew a little bit before reaching down to pick up his teammates, "But I'm afraid we'll have to carry this on at another time."

"Don't be so confident you'll show up," an ominous voice murmured suddenly before the Sound genin whipped around in alert to see a certain blond behind him.

A clawed grip embraced the ninja's face in the next second; drawing blood from the deep punctures Naruto's nails brought on. Everyone was watching in horror, but the Uzumaki took no notice. He had had enough of watching the torment Sasuke bestowed on them from the sidelines. Now, it was _his_ turn.

With one arm alone, the Leaf genin raised the other into the air by his head, and Dosu was struggling in vain to break free. Now, just like his teammates, he was about to be dead. Naruto's hair ruffled and his canines lengthened immediately, a transformation Sasuke and Sakura were used to seeing by now. His eyes became alive with killing intent, and no one had the courage to look away.

"_Let's see… Should I crush your skull right now, or just tear you apart?_" he asked himself rhetorically, "_Which would bring me more amusement?_"

"…Naruto…" Sakura whispered suddenly, but Naruto, even with his improved hearing, pretended to not have heard it. Her thoughts and feelings were no concern of his. He fought only for himself, and he loved only himself, and nothing was going to change that.

"Challenging our team was a mistake," Sasuke breathed suddenly. Sakura looked at him questionably before he continued, "Without us, Naruto can't move on through the exams. He _needs_ us as long as we're in this test, and when someone threatens something he needs, he won't hesitate to destroy anyone who gets in his way. Naruto _knows_ what he wants, and getting it is all the fun to him."

Both looked back at the struggling man pityingly before the Uchiha finally spoke again, "It's only a shadow in a thought to think anyone can beat Naruto…"

"Wait! I'll give you our scroll! You can have it!" Dosu suddenly yelled as he hung by his head. His neck felt like it was about to disconnect from his head any second now, and it was almost positive he wouldn't survive this. In a last attempt to live, he carefully began to raise his right arm where his sound weapon clung.

"_Being generous won't save your insignificant hide, and acting ignorant only makes it worse. It's fuckers like you that piss me off that most,_" Naruto suddenly remarked before lifting his arm and grasping the ninja's right armored wrist in a vice grip. It wasn't hard to see what he intended to do.

With two harsh pulls, the man's arm was torn from its socket. A yelp of pain and several yelps of fright cut through the forest air before the blond threw the limb uselessly to the side. Another grab and tug and his left arm departed soon after, and all the other genin could do was watch in paralyzed silence. Never had they seen anything like this, other than Sasuke and Sakura of course. Naruto held nothing back. He literally tore Dosu limb from limb before finally throwing his last leg into some nearby bushes. Blood spattered his clothes, but he could care less. He felt as alive as he could possibly feel.

"_And now, you're nothing but a worthless asshole who gets in my way…_" Naruto went on finally; his eyes wide and colored with blood vessels.

'_And now, he's dead_," Sasuke finished finally.

Blood trailed down the Sound ninja's chin as he looked painfully at the young killer. This was it, he failed his mission and this boy was about to wipe him from existence.

And that's exactly what Naruto did.

One short flex and that man's head was broken between strong, bony fingers. At this, everyone watching had to shut their eyes in repugnance. They knew that there had always been times in the ninja world that required killing to resolve conflicts, but this could never classify as one of them. This was a slaughter that couldn't be stopped. Once Naruto started, no one could intervene without being torn to bits.

And now it was Zakku and Kin's turn, and every team present couldn't help but be forever grateful that they were not _them_.

* * *

Mitarashi Anko watched a certain team through the TV monitor in interest. A grin was expressed on her features and her eyes glinted with curiosity. That blond just could not cease to amaze her.

"They beat the old exam record of four hours by a land slide…" a man beside her pointed out in amazement, "They _can't_ be at genin level…"

"And that blond kid… I mean, look at his arms," another exclaimed suddenly, "They're drenched in blood. What in the world did he do to them?"

"You mean, _with_ them," Anko corrected suddenly, "That's not his blood."

"Wait, what?"

"Look under the blood coating his arms," she continued with narrowed eyes, "Not one single injury. Not even the smallest scratch. He barely even has any dirt on his clothes. It brings up the question of exactly _how_ he could've done it. Each team had to go through miles of beasts, insects and the trees themselves, but he looks he walked through nothing at all, excluding that dried blood."

"But… Look at his teammates. They look like they just went through the worst beating in history," the first male ninja spoke up suddenly, "How do you think that could've happened?"

"My best guess is that the three got separated. You _do_ know who that blond brat is right?" the Chuunin examiner asked suddenly. When all she received her blank stares, she smiled a little bit, "It's Uzumaki."

Several pairs of eyes widened immediately and some even spun around in shock. Her grin only grew larger from their reactions. The second man that spoke at the beginning stared her in disbelief, "The Jinchuuriki?! How could the Third have even let him participate? That kid is dangerous!"

"Yeah, if _that's_ not obvious," another ninja pointed out sarcastically, "I knew there was something dark about that look in his eyes."

An ANBU Black-Ops soldier leant on a far wall in thought, "So… His abilities live up to their reputation. There's no telling how many he killed to have both his arms wind up like that. And to think, I was about to wonder if someone reliable finally showed up."

"Hmm… It's no wonder. I don't think any chuunin could reach the tower unscathed, but hey, look who can," Anko stated in amusement. Looking at the monitor focused on the blond once more, she smiled further with her brown eyes shining, "Uzumaki Naruto… The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Heh, what a guy."

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Gaara picked up the scroll beside the unconscious body without rush. His siblings stood, brushing themselves off behind him. Really, it wasn't much of a fight. The Sand siblings' abilities were difficult to defend against. They were above genin level, after all.

The tower was only a mile off from their recent battle. It would take about fifteen or so minutes to reach it, so they were in no hurry. And it was unlikely anyone would attack them on their way. But Gaara couldn't help but reminisce what he and his siblings saw a few hours ago. That murderer, Uzumaki Naruto. He was so close to finding out the big secret about him before that Chuunin examiner interrupted, but then seeing how he killed with so much pleasure, Gaara wasn't sure if he _wanted_ to find out the truth. That boy fought like he was possessed. Like he was some sort of demon.

Gaara chuckled silently.

'_Demon, huh?_'

He touched his chest in disgust. That _thing_ had lived in him since the day he was born, and he loathed it with all his being. The one-tailed demon, Shukaku. A killer by nature, just like Uzumaki Naruto. The redhead sighed disdainfully.

'_He may fight like he would be one, but an actual living demon resides within my own body,_' he continued abhorrently, '_That fucking source of all my unhappiness. I can't wait until the day I finally separate from this hell and crush this fucking Bijuu with my own two hands. Then maybe then I can finally be the same as everyone else._'

To be the same.

That's all the genin ever wanted. Maybe then the rest of the village would accept him. Maybe then his father will acknowledge him for the person he really is. And maybe then the fear he saw in everyone's eyes would leave and never come back. Yes, that's all the genin ever wanted.

The subject of the Leaf genin quickly flooded Gaara's mind once more, and he was compelled to glare lightly at his sister and brother for the moment. They stared back with raised eyebrows, but it was clear what Gaara was thinking. They were caught.

"Something up, Gaara?" Kankurou asked suddenly, hands relaxing in his pockets.

"Uzumaki…" the redhead stated suddenly, "You never finished explaining, did you?"

Both tensed as their fears became reality and Gaara's eyes narrowed further. There was no way out of it. Their little brother wanted to know. _Now._

"Alright, alright, Gaara… You got us," his older brother sighed reluctantly, "We'll finish explaining."

He quickly looked to Temari when she began to talk, "Since there's no backing down now… Uzumaki is one of the most dangerous ninjas in existence at the moment. Not much is really known about his past or how his childhood was, but it's pretty sure that he grew up just like you did."

"Except, he had no one," the puppet master next to her finished.

Gaara could feel his gut twist painfully in memory, but merely nodded so they could continue. The brunet continued, "The kid's life is a sad story. To this day, he has no freaking idea who his parents were, but it's pretty much figured that they're dead. Everyone in the village hates him enough to give up their own lives to wipe him off the face of the Earth, but no one's really attempted it without dying."

"Growing up hated, scorned and ignored, Uzumaki lived his life in a state of chaos. And being confused by his own self-conscious and the people around him, he began to hate himself and most everyone else, as well," his sister went on.

The redhead grit his teeth in anger. His knuckles were white and his eyes were narrow. The similarities were endless. That Leaf genin was like him in every way, and like him, he never deserved it. Living a life full of confusion and hate, one's only choice is rage. And that had been Naruto's only choice to save himself of all the pain.

"How…" Gaara started suddenly with his eyes downcast, "How do you know all of this?"

"Baki-sensei told us about him right before we left Suna," Temari replied somberly, "He got a warning from a few of his acquaintances here in Konoha, so he decided that it was best we knew, too."

"And why wasn't I told?" her younger brother started angrily.

"Gaara, it's not that we didn't want to tell you, it's just," the kinoichi began guiltily.

"It's just we thought it would be best not to stress you out more than you already were," the brunet finished suddenly, "But we're sorry we didn't tell you sooner. The thing is, learning this about him we thought would probably make you throw off the mission."

"Why would I stop the mission? Yes, Uzumaki and I had similar pains in our childhoods, but nevertheless, I barely know him. His life is none of my concern," the genin explained suddenly, bits of anger still chewing at his insides.

"Then I guess it should surprise you that we told you is only half the story," Kankurou answered suddenly. The light in his eyes was as morbid as the grimace on his face.

Gaara immediately looked up at this; curious as to what else about the Leaf genin would be interesting to him. The older brother looked to the oldest sibling to finish the explanation, and she did so with a heavy sigh.

"Gaara, he's more like you then you can possibly imagine," she started, "His demon is as real as yours is."

And that was it. That one statement was enough to make Gaara break his monotonous expression and stare at his sister with widening eyes.

"He's Konoha's Jinchuuriki," came the final statement, "The Kyuubi carrier."

"In other words, the most powerful Bijuu in existence."

* * *

_**Sorry for any spelling or gramatical mistakes in there. I was kind of going over it pretty fast so I could get it posted quickly. But yeah, Gaara finally finds out who and what Naruto is and Naruto is on a major killing spree without any consequence coming his way! Heh, all's fair in hate and war, right?**_

_**(1) I'm saying that body Oro was impersonating was a woman because he had a woman's voice and a damn feminine face. I know it's probably a fact that the genin was a dude, but screw it!**_

**_(2) Naruto's team and the Sound team never met in that waiting room before the First Exam. In my storyline, it would probably have the Sound team to cautious to approach their team with the way Naruto is. Kabuto never made any contact with them either._**

**_Well, that's all for now. Review or send a private message if you didn't understand something or something was just plain unclear. I'll see you guys later!_**


	5. Ch5 Facing Death

**_Hey guys... Sorry... Again for the late update. It's been kind of hard to find time with school and all keeping me busy. I'm pretty sure I won't be making anymore promises since I seem to be doing nothing but breaking them. From here on in, I'm just going to work on my stories any time I can, alright? Be patient for me, please. Hang in there!_**

**_I'm also really sorry for such a short chapter after a such a long time. Nine pages just isn't enough, is it? Pfft, I know it wasn't for me. All this chapter is reflecting is Naruto and Kiba's fight in the prelims, which turned out to be pretty short, but hey, is it such a surprise? I mean, genin!Kiba against Kyuubi!Naruto? How long would you expect the battle to be? Especially when Naruto has long time before-hand experience with his dark side. By the way, I'm pretty sure I'm going to skip the rest of the prelims. All the other battles will turn out pretty much the same, so I don't want to bore you. Gaara's battle will still be the same except he won't practically destroy Lee's limbs. I'd suspect he'd only knock the boy out... or something to that effect..._**

**_

* * *

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**_Chapter 5 _**

**_Facing Death_**

Gaara just could _not _take his eyes off of the blond murderer standing nonchalantly just a couple yards away. How was it even possible? There was absolutely _no way_ they were _this_ similar. Uzumaki… Had a demon, too?

The Kyuubi?

The most powerful Bijuu in existence?

No wonder he was a psycho sinister bastard… The way his twisted mind worked was nowhere near how Gaara thought, at least. Naruto was a stone-cold killer, but he had a reason. He grew up, just like the redhead: hated, despised and ignored. But unlike Gaara, Naruto had no one. He was always alone, even from the start. No one loved him, nor did they claim him. It was as if he suddenly came into existence without any cause at all. There was no hint that he ever had parents, at least, as far as Gaara and his siblings knew.

So the genin couldn't help but feel defensive. Naruto was so much like him. Hell, Naruto _was_ him.

"Nn, and here I was taking this stupid exam thinking it'll only make me a Chuunin."

All three siblings' heads snapped over at said blond immediately, along with every other ninja that was present in the room. Naruto stood nonchalantly, with his arms crossed and his eyes lazy, though it was obvious that he was quite annoyed. Dried blood coated his arms even now. It seemed he hadn't even cared to wash it off. This caused the Hokage to sigh, taking out his pipe momentarily before replacing it, "Yes, Naruto-kun. Your country's pride and prestige as well as your life is put on the line when you take this exam."

Gaara strained his ears as Naruto replied so only those close could hear him, "No shit."

There were a series of coughs before the genin continued with a more audible voice, "Whatever. I don't give a rat's ass what it is, just tell me what this battle entails."

"Very well-"

Abruptly, there was another loud cough before a ninja flickered into view in front of the leader, "Forgive me, sir, but as the referee, would you allow me to continue?"

"By all means…"

After, once more, another cough, the chuunin examiner turned to face all the genin, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Gekkou Hayate, and before you go on to the third test, I'd like to set you all through a preliminary."

"Geez, the guy's sick," Gaara heard his brother mutter irritably behind before yet another cough sounded.

"Six teams passed the second exam. Meaning there're eighteen of you standing in front of me right now. But that's too many who've passed the second exam, according to examination rules, so we are required to hold individual matches to decrease the number taking the third exam. Then again, anyone feeling too injured, too tired, or too nervous to continue, may quit on your own terms. The rest of your team may stay," he explained further before, surprisingly, having _another_ coughing fit.

"In that case…"

Many whipped their heads around to observe a man about in his twenties, raising his hand with a slight grin, "I think I'll back out now."

His name was Yakushi Kabuto; a gray-haired boy with large glasses from the Leaf village, at least, that's how he seemed. He looked across to the jounin side of the room with narrowed eyes, meeting thin snake-like orbs. He was kind of disappointed he did not have the chance to talk with Sasuke firsthand, seeing that the Nine-Tailed Fox stood in the way, but observing him from afar was more than enough to gather the information needed, and Lord Orochimaru seemed satisfied with his results. With this known, he left with a cheerful wave, ignoring his comrade's cursing.

"Very well, is there any one else?"

"After coming this far?! Hell no!" a young male voice echoed suddenly. The genin known as Inuzuka Kiba stepped out a bit from the genin lines with enthusiasm, pointing at the opposite side with pride. His optimism was admirable, but Gaara only took a moment to establish it before a he heard a female voice call out in Naruto's direction.

The pink-haired girl on his team seemed to be tearing up as Gaara looked over at her. She was muttering words to Naruto's other comrade, Uchiha Sasuke, Gaara learned. The boy was gripping something savagely on his collarbone, glaring at the girl next to him as if she were the most annoying person in the world. A few seconds passed before the genin began to raise her hand, but the other quickly stopped her, muttering what looked to be a threat from the scarlet glint in his eyes. Naruto ignored all of this, merely yawning and staring ahead the entire time, at least, that's how it appeared before the blond turned his head and spoke words loud enough for Gaara to catch.

"If you're as smart as I've come to believe, Haruno, you'll shut up and let him advance. Besides, you're annoying the hell out of me," he growled suddenly. Even as these three argued, the case wasn't so different with the adults across the room. Anko, the Hokage, and whom Gaara had come to know as Kakashi were talking animatedly as well, though the woman looked quite panicked.

A couple more minutes passed and the room finally fell entirely silent. Hayate took this as the moment to speak, "Since no one seems to want to back down, then we will now start the preliminary. You'll be fighting one-on-one, as if in a real confrontation, and since there're exactly twenty now of you, there will be ten matches. The winners of each will proceed to the third exam."

And that was where Gaara zoned out. At least, until he observed the computer on the far wall form words on its screen.

'_**Uchiha - Sasuke Vs. Akado - Yoroi**_' it read, causing many to look over at the two said genin immediately. Of course, Gaara didn't much care for either of them, that is, until Sasuke proved to have some sort of special ability in the middle of the match, boosting all of his skills without any time at all.

* * *

Kakashi and the Hokage closed their eyes as Kurenai held her breath.

_**Uzumaki – Naruto Vs. Inuzuka – Kiba **_**(1)**

Kiba grit his teeth, "You've _got_ to be kidding me…"

"It's alright, Kiba… You've got this," his mentor encouraged frailly with her hand resting on his shoulder, "You're strong enough to take him."

"Shouldn't your advice be, _Try to stay alive, Kiba_?" he asked nervously as Akamaru shook violently in his jacket.

"Well, I'd encourage you to forfeit, but I know you're not one to do that," Kurenai explained lowly, "You've gotten stronger. You can hold your own."

"I hope so," the genin muttered.

His sensei bent down hesitantly before whispering in his ear, "Speed. Put all your chakra into your speed and your smell."

"Right, Kurenai-sensei," Kiba nodded before making his way down onto the main floor.

Meanwhile, Kakashi stopped his own student from advancing, causing the blond to look up at his teacher in annoyance, "What?"

"Take it easy on him. You have enough blood on your arms as is," Kakashi muttered, his eye refusing to betray his emotions.

"And who are you to give me advice, Kakashi-senpai?" Naruto growled.

The jounin's grip loosened ever so slightly, "Just take my word for it. Killing him won't get you anywhere."

He finally let his hand slip off the boy's shoulder before the genin proceeded as if he hadn't heard his teacher at all. Both boys came to a stop face-to-face on the main floor as Hayate surveyed both of them.

"Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba," he announced loudly, "The seventh match."

Reaching in his jacket, the young brunet took his small companion and placed him on the ground, his eyes never leaving the genin standing across from him, before muttering, "Alright, Akamaru. Relax. This is what we've trained for. We need to give it our all. I need you by my side."

There was a soft timid bark in reply before Hayate coughed again, "Are both of you ready?"

"…Yes," Kiba answered hesitantly.

Naruto, on the other hand, merely smirked blankly. He slowly reached inside his kunai pouch, before taking it out with his hand clenched around nothing at all. Shifting his fingers in several various movements, he finally flicked his wrist before bearing already growing canines, "…Yes."

No one other than Naruto noticed it, but one kinoichi up in the stands looked at her pouch in confusion. Sakura's eyes made contact with light blue, but she remained still.

After a moment, the chuunin examiner nodded swiftly before jumping off the main floor with a yell, "Begin!"

The blond immediately flicked his wrist back, his expression unchanging, catching the other off guard. It wasn't until Akamaru barked that Kiba was alert to the pair of kunai zooming at him from behind. He dodged reflexively, though one of the tools still grazed his shoulder, allowing blood to flow in small amounts. He winced before sliding to a stop on all fours, Akamaru staying closely by his side. Naruto's eyes flickered in interest.

"How the hell…?" Kiba managed with a pant. There was nothing in Naruto's hand! Nothing at all! Where did those kunai come from?

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, '_You started things out a little differently, Naruto… Invisible wire this time?_'

Sakura grimaced. She reached down and closed her pouch after it was forcibly half open from the tools Naruto stole. She didn't know if the move was even allowed, but no one else seemed to notice where the weapons had come from. She knew she and him had been connected by invisible wire since the Jinchuuriki came and picked her up in the forest after Sasuke was bitten. Apparently, he knew he couldn't leave them alone or else they could get killed during the exam, preventing Naruto from passing. So, while her head was turned, he snuck wire into her pouch and tightened it around a few of her tools, seeing as the chance of her throwing one, he would be immediately warned. Taking her hand, she only felt one wire attached to her pouch now, but didn't remove it.

Naruto replaced his hand back inside his weapons case (most likely setting back the remaining string, Sakura figured) and took it back out nonchalantly. Kiba immediately looked behind him once again, only to see nothing before looking back at the blond. The Uzumaki grinned, "Paranoid?"

The other grit his teeth slightly before standing up straight, "Don't-"

"Underestimate you?" Naruto cut him off abruptly, "God, you don't know how many times I've heard that shit today."

With a slight sigh, he grinned at the other boy, "I won't underestimate you. Believe it."

Kiba could feel his face heat up in frustration before growling and reaching inside his pouch, "Alright Akamaru, we're skipping right to the soldier pills."

A bark in agreement sounded before the genin tossed him a pill and gulped down another. Akamaru's fur slowly turned red as Kiba himself grew more vicious looking by the second. If this strategy didn't work, Kiba had a few more that might.

So, crouching low, he quickly formed a sequence of hand signs before leaning forward to stand on all fours. With eyes narrowed, the brunet muttered, "Beast form…"

Chakra immediately began to emit violently from his body, which began to change even more to a more canine like appearance. He could feel himself gain the technique's power rapidly before gesturing to his companion, who barked readily in reply and leapt towards him.

"Beast-Man Clone!" he yelled as the dog jumped on his back. There was a small explosion of smoke before a second Kiba became visible, "Fang Over Fang!" **(2)**

The genin made sure not to waste any time as he and Akamaru sped through the air toward their opponent before spinning at a speed near thought impossible. Naruto stood his ground with a slight smirk, not even showing the tiniest flinch as the pair made contact where he stood. All three were instantly engulfed in the smoke of the debris. Kiba jerked his spinning body around several times, smelling for his opponent. As Kurenai advised, he concentrated all his chakra into his speed and his smell. There was no way possible that the blond could hide from him or Akamaru.

Everyone watched with held breath before Kiba finally pulled his technique to a stop a couple yards out of the smoke. His dog followed closely behind him, and both stood silently, cautiously looking at the smoke screen. Once the dirt finally cleared, the Inuzuka's breath hitched as soon as he noticed the other had disappeared. He whipped his head in all directions without catching one hint of movement, though his smell clearly told him the boy was still very near inside the room. It was then when he heard the light touch of feet on the floor not but two inches behind him.

"Is that the best the great Inuzuka Clan can do? Is that _it_?" Kiba heard the foul mocking queries and stiffened. Hesitating only for a brief moment, he jerked himself to turn around and dodge, but he had moved too late. Naruto brought the back of his bloody fist straight into the young boy's face without warning before bringing a kick at Akamaru who advanced in defense. Both were knocked back onto the floor several yards down as Naruto eyed them. His appearance was overtaking a transformation similar to the other's at the beginning of the battle, though instead, Naruto's eyes turned scarlet and his veins popped animatedly out from his arms. His whiskers thickened, his hair raised pointedly and his nails lengthened in size. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly. Naruto was already resorting to his demon stage.

"_You tell me not to underestimate you,_" the Uzumaki pointed out suddenly while walking toward his victims, "_Yet you have nothing to show for it. Why not entertain me?_"

Coming back to his senses, Kiba hit Akamaru's hand before disappearing from sight. The dog followed not too long after. They weren't fooling the fox child as they hoped though. Naruto's enhanced eyes could see them move about the room clearly, but it didn't lower his interest in the slightest. Grinning sadistically, he sped off, disappearing from the naked eye. Kakashi shifted unnoticeably, bringing his hand up and moving his forehead protector up a few centimeters so his sharingan was barely visible. He could see them dash like hummingbirds throughout the arena with their speed. Making out who was who was no problem though. Naruto was running from the pair; he was messing with them. Kakashi could make out the grin he had on his face and narrowed his eyes.

Meanwhile, everyone in the stands looked around wildly, including Gaara, whose eyes had gone wide soon after the battle began. He felt his brother tense beside him before the sibling exclaimed, "They're moving too fast for us. That speed is incredible."

It wasn't a second that passed after he said that when the three finally appeared on the left side of the main floor. Kiba flew back before skidding on the floor as the clone that was Akamaru was thrown in the opposite direction. Naruto's outspread position between the two of them made it clear he had been the cause of the impact.

Kiba coughed up blood from the force on his chest, and his dog didn't seem to be doing any better. Both their hoods had fallen down some time during the hit, revealing short spiky brown hair. A small piece of Akamaru's left ear was missing after he had gotten too close to the Jinchuuriki one time during the pursuit.

Naruto straightened himself before crossing his arms, "_Come on, Kiba-kun._"

That was it. Kiba was _pissed_. He lifted his hand bit it, _hard_. He needed to calm himself down and think logically. Did Naruto have any weaknesses? Pfft, not that he knew of. In his mind, he could hear his teacher encouraging him. She had faith in him. He'd grown a lot through the exam, now it was time to show it. But facing Naruto was basically facing death itself. What chance did he have? His smell was magnified, and his speed was outstanding. What else would he need? Suddenly, a plan began to formulate in his mind. All the movements, all the shifts, and every turn, he could see them, but it was risky. Akamaru had to understand every one of Kiba's subtle messages without one word being shared between them.

He looked at his comrade hesitantly, who looked back, waiting for orders. Grinning ever so slightly, he nodded. Yes, Akamaru could do it.

Standing up, his dog following closely behind, both stared directly passed the blond and at each other. Everything was silent, with Naruto waiting patiently. Only a second passed before both Inuzukas disappeared simultaneously, with their opponent slightly grinning in the process before pursuing them. But even as the movements were too quick and subtle, Kakashi could see the plan in the process. Akamaru moved exactly how Kiba was directing him to move, like a puppet without the strings. The dog could hear the tap of his master's steps and the wave of his arms. During all this, Kiba was backing Naruto toward the East wall, but the blond could see this, which was exactly what the brunet wanted.

As soon as he touched the wall, Naruto planted his feet flat on its surface before sailing straight passed the other genin, and toward Akamaru. Akamaru understood the sudden signal immediately, and dove in front of the boy before digging his claws into his shoulder and legs.

"Fang Over Fang!" echoed throughout the room. Akamaru spun rapidly, still connected to Naruto's body. Kiba was following them closely behind. Kakashi's eyes widened. With Naruto attached to him while he did the technique, there was no telling how the boy was getting torn up by the second. That technique was no joke. Not even Uzumaki Naruto was invulnerable to it.

Within a second, the dog rammed him into the concrete floor, still spinning, and jumped away immediately. Skidding to a stop, he watched Kiba close in on the target. The brunet hit Naruto head on, causing a mess of debris to jump out of the way. Everyone in the stands caught the powerful burst of impact, winds blowing against them violently.

Sakura shielded her face with a wince, '_What power…!_'

'_In-… Incredible,_' Temari thought quickly, as her brother muttered to her right, "That chakra…"

Gaara had to grab onto the bar to keep from sailing back into the wall as his free arm covered his face from the blast.

Soon, the air became calm and quiet and the smoke began to clear. Everyone looked around it in alarm. The shadows of two figures stood hunched over by the main entrance to the building. In a moment, everyone could see both Kibas standing weakly beside each other. Their eyes were drooping and they were breathing heavily, blood still trailing down their chins. After studying them, it wasn't long before they could see what damage the collision had caused. The floor near the east wall was crushed. The cracks resembled that of a spider web, and the indentation was about a man's height deep.

The Akamaru clone leaned forward and supported his body with hands on his knees. The strategy had taken a lot out of the two, but the thing was, Naruto was nowhere in sight.

Everyone searched. That is until there was a crack, and Akamaru looked at his feet in panic. The ground fractured slightly below him, but there was no chance to dodge as a bloody hand shot out, gripping him harshly by the neck. Naruto burst out of the ground, with his body straight and sturdy and his grip unmoving. His mouth was black-lined darkly and his fangs were now reaching passed his lips. Claws hooked themselves inside the dog's neck as both Inuzukas froze in place. Pieces of rubble fell off his body while he planted his feet solidly on the floor. From the way he stood, most would think he was incensed, but his maniacal grin explained otherwise. He was having the time of his life.

Then, without another thought, he threw the clone harshly at the wall to his left. Akamaru hit it immediately before bouncing back onto the floor and transforming back to his original canine form. Kiba's eyes widened exasperatedly.

"Akamaru!" he called in alarm before having Naruto catch his eye. The blond stepped toward him slowly and it was then he noticed the awkward state of his left arm. He had broken it.

"_**It's been a long time since anyone broke any of my bones,**_" he pointed out with his voice backed up by another more sinister. A voice that was deep and horrid, and Kiba could only think it was Kyuubi's. After a split second, the possessed genin continued, "_**You broke the joint in my arm, and also a few of my ribs. Maybe I should tear out your rib cage in exchange.**_"

His right arm shot out, and Kiba could feel those solid nails fastening themselves deep within his chest. His eyes shifted to Akamaru, who lay still on the other side of the room, his neck bleeding profusely. Kiba grasped Naruto's wrist with both his hands, struggling a bit as he was lifted up into the air. It was painful. The brunet could see his vision blackening from the sting racking every nerve of his system. It was now he saw going up against him was a mistake. If countless jounin had been killed fighting him, what made the boy think he would have a chance?

The blond flexed his fingers, causing Kiba's ribs to crack. The pain was even worse than before as Kiba yelled agonizingly in reaction. A few even fully snapped from the pressure. Naruto grinned.

He threw him across to the other side of the arena. Kiba's shoulder hit the edge of the hole he had created when ramming Naruto, breaking his shoulder blade, before rolling down the slope. He came to a stop at the bottom of the pit on his stomach. His breathing was hard and his body shook violently. He could feel his stomach internally bleeding from the strike he took earlier in the battle and his neck was now cloaked in blood as well as his chest.

A weight came down on the back of his left leg suddenly. Kiba could only imagine that it was Naruto's foot. The force was destroying his thighbone, making the brunet suck in air painfully through his teeth. The torture was more than he had ever imagined. The process was slow, but sturdy. He could hear the cracking in his ears. The pressure lightened a bit before coming down full force. The bone was immediately shattered. Kiba gasped, his body jumping. He was losing his sight. He was more than grateful when the foot stepped off him.

But something hot and wet gripped him ruthlessly from the back of his neck. Naruto crouched down beside his face, his smile still the same. Everyone looked on anxiously. Some looked away, afraid at what they were about to see. Kiba was finished.

"_**You failed, Kiba-kun. You really have a knack for entertaining me, so I'll enjoy every damned moment killing you**_," Naruto whispered in his ear, causing the brunet to shudder in reaction.

Naruto released him and pulled his hand back. He was going to stay true to his word, "_**And now I'm going to rip out your fucking skeleton.**_"

With a final breath, Kiba froze, waiting for the strike that never came. A clash of metal was heard and Naruto grunted beside him before being forced away from the genin. Kurenai stood solidly; ready to fight with kunai in hand while positioned between the two opponents. The blond skidded to a stop with a glare.

"_**You'd protect him?**_" Naruto growled in confusion.

Kurenai didn't move but replied, "I'd die protecting him."

"_**Why protect that bastard?**_" the blond grit his teeth, "_**He failed. He deserves every fucking moment.**_ _**Why save him?**_"

"Because," the woman began, baring her teeth, "Because he's my student, and also because he is precious to me." **(3)**

The genin froze. He couldn't understand it, any of it. Kiba failed to beat him. He didn't deserve to live. Immediately, Naruto's mind was thrown into a period of chaos. Memories he didn't know he had were coming back, filling him with anger and confusion. He held his head, yelling in agony. He could hear his heart beating in his ears. A feeling he wasn't sure of was taking effect inside of him.

Enraged, he looked up at the jounin protecting her student and readied himself to advance, feelings still springing to life in his mind.

"_**Step aside,**_" he demanded loudly, "_**Or you die with him.**_"

Kurenai paused before narrowing her eyes, "So be it."

'_This has gone too far,_" Hayate thought quickly. Kakashi and Asuma's thoughts weren't too different, '_We have to stop him._'

Naruto launched toward Kurenai in a split second, right hand raised in assault, but the woman was shocked to find he was engulfed in smoke soon after. As it cleared, she found Hayate standing with a kunai protectively in front of her. Kakashi's right arm hooked itself around Naruto's throat from behind. Asuma had his two brass knuckle knives out, holding Naruto's claws at bay, and even Gai was crouched down to the boy's left, right arm swung out in front of his waist. Naruto was completely surrounded.

"That's enough, Naruto-kun," Hayate stated with his eyes narrowing, "This match is over."

No one loosened their positions though. Asuma glanced over at the third Hokage with discontent, his arms shaking as he held off Naruto's hand, '_You old fool. Allowing him to enter was a mistake._'

He shifted his eyes toward Kakashi, '_And encouraging him to do so… Kakashi, what were you thinking?_'

Gai didn't move, though he glanced at the gray-haired jounin as well. He and his rival connected eyes, and Gai spoke subtly with his stare, '_We're talking after this is over._'

Hesitantly, Kakashi nodded before turning to lean forward a bit, "Back down, kohai. It's done."

Hearing the man's voice seemed to snap Naruto from his anger. He landed his eyes momentarily on every adult around him before lowering his hand from Asuma's knives. A series of cracks were heard as Naruto's hands reverted back to normal. His eyes took back the shade of bright sky blue and his hair became calmer looking. The cuts and bruises on his skin were already healing, steam emitting from their locations.

He snapped his gaze directly into Kurenai's eyes before answering, "So be it."

The ones holding him back lowered their arms and relaxed. Kurenai stiffened a bit as Naruto replied, but a sudden cough from behind caught her attention. She whipped around toward her student and crouched down, checking his pulse.

Her eyes widened, "His heart is stopping! Medical team!"

"Right!" a series of voices responded before a pack of men in white suits appeared.

Kiba was immediately put on a stretcher and taken out of the arena and out of sight, eyes following his sorry state. All excluding Naruto, who nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets and began to walk in the other direction. That is, until another medical ninja followed him rapidly, "Naruto-kun. I am authorized to fix your broken bones."

"Don't touch me," Naruto replied monotonously.

"But, how will yo-"

"Believe me, man. You lay one hand on me and I _will_ kill you," the blond cut him off as he halted irritably. He slowly glared at him with piercing eyes, "Don't test me."

The medical ninja hesitated before looking over at Kakashi, who only nodded. With one last look at the genin, he nodded as well, "Right."

Kakashi watched him run off before looking back at the blond. Naruto's demon powers would heal his bones. The Uzumaki knew this well enough, but what caught everyone's attention was the genin makin for a door and not the stands. Kakashi disappeared before reappearing beside the boy, "And you would be heading…?"

Naruto spared him a quick glance before continuing, "…To the bathroom. The blood on my arms is beginning to crack."

His teacher paused before nodding, "Alright, don't take too long, kohai."

There was a soft mumble of something that sounded suspiciously like "Piss off," before Kakashi felt four other presences to his right and left. Asuma and Kurenai stood to his left as Gai and Hayate stood to his right. All were staring after the Jinchuuriki with cautious eyes.

"You have a knack for getting the difficult ones, Kakashi," Asuma pointed out suddenly. It was clear he wasn't just referring to Naruto. Sasuke had something going on with him as well. Something Kakashi was intent on fixing.

* * *

**_Sorry sorry again on the late update. I've been busy as I've already told you. The NaruGaa-ness will also come very soon alright? They'll speak... and make contact... and stuff soon enough. The story's only beginning._**

**(1) For all those wondering why I didn't just switch Kiba and Lee for this fight so the outcome could be the same, my answer is I wanted to keep all other basic happenings the same other than my three root changes in which I sort of explained in the beginning. Sure, the outcome was different, but would you really expect things to be the same as the would be in vice versa?  
**

**(2) Yes yes, I've pointed it out before, but I'm refreshing your member if some of you guys forgot. I'm using english technique names (shudder) so I don't confuse the most of you with japanese. I'm also avoiding the word 'jutsu' because seriously, who here thinks that's NOT retarded to say in english... or engrish?  
**

**(3) LoL, obviously stole that from Gai. Heh, SORRY GAI-SENSEI!**

**_Read and Review~!_  
**


	6. Ch6 See It for Yourself

_**Hey guys... I know, "Finally...", right? How long has it been this time?**_

_**I'm also sorry this one's pretty short compared to what I usually submit. I had writer's block at one moment, and then my other life was interfering half the time. And even when I did have time to write a bit, I usually reached a point where I couldn't think of what to put next. It was a very sad, sad occasion. But yeah, anyway, not much to say of this chapter. Naruto and Gaara still haven't talked really whatsoever, but, there is a little "something, something" that goes on that Gaara witnesses. No! Not that "something, something", so wipe that stupid grin off your face!**_

_**Enjoy!  
**_

_**

* * *

Chapter 6  
See It for Yourself**_

"Congratulations!" Hayate exclaimed before coughing, "To all of you who won the right to compete in the Third Exam of the Chuunin Exams, although one's missing…"

"Where is that bastard's faggot-ass?" Naruto muttered next to the Sand kinoichi. But then Gaara caught his eye, and he looked him up and down with interest.

Sasuke had been led out of the arena after his match due to the curse overtaking his body during his round. Fatigue overtook him not long after and Kakashi escorted him off the premises.

Gaara, on the other hand, had been chosen to fight against Rock Lee, a rather strong fighter in Tai-jutsu even Naruto had to admit. But the blond could tell it was over as soon as Gaara displayed his abilities over sand. The redhead possessed an ultimate defense and an unmatched offense. Lee could barely break through before taking off the weights he constantly trained with. Without them, he was even faster than Kiba was, and maybe even more so than Naruto himself. But even then, he failed to break through the redhead's defense solidly. He was eventually pushed to open the gates holding his chakra, which only a select few in the shinobi world can actually do. With that, Gaara was taken down in less than a minute, but still the boy was conscious and fighting. In Lee's fatigue after the session of gate opening, Gaara knocked him out cold. He healed the armor sand protecting his actual body without another moment wasted, and it looked as if nothing had ever even happened, peaking Naruto's interest out of the blue. The fight was longer and almost harsher than any other battle thus far.

Sakura stood up in the stands with worry on her mind. Kakashi had come back to watch the rest of the matches, but Sasuke hadn't. Where could he be? What could've happened to him?

"Kakashi-sensei? Is there…" she started, but paused to think a bit, "…something wrong with-"

"Sasuke?" he cut her off, and then looked back down at the finalists indifferently, "I, myself, don't even know that much about his conditions at the moment, but I assure you everything will be fine."

The pink-haired kinoichi hesitated before nodding. He smiled under his mask and looked at her, "I need to leave now that the matches are over. Listen to the tournament instructions closely, alright?

And with that, he was gone in a puff of smoke. She blinked at where he had been a second ago and stuttered in confusion, "Alright."

Meanwhile, the Hokage looked about all the remaining genin in analysis of the next exam, '_Hmm, out of everyone, only genin of the Leaf and Sand Villages managed to get through the exams…_'

"Alright, Hokage-sama. Would you take over?" Hayate broke his thoughts.

"Of course," he answered slowly.

Naruto nodded off once more as the old man explained some sort of true purpose to the exam. Whatever he had to say did not interest the boy whatsoever. That is, until that woman Anko stepped up in front of the seven genin holding a box. She looked at them all and walked up in front of Naruto first, lifting the box.

"Alright guys. I'm coming around with a box with numbers inside. Draw only one," she instructed with a small grin.

Naruto hesitantly did as he was told and looked at the small piece of paper to see the number '1' printed on it. Everyone else took a number and said theirs out loud.

"Seven," the girl next to him spoke up.

Her brother glanced at her, "Five."

Gaara didn't look up as he read his off, "Three."

"Eight," Shikamaru stated after him.

Neji spoke next, "Two."

Shino was the last, "Six."

Everyone then looked at Naruto with questioning expressions, as he hadn't said his yet. He was honestly thinking that all of them could just mind their own businesses and back off, but instead he shrugged, "One."

Ibiki looked at the Hokage without expression, "That means Uchiha has four."

The older man nodded, then looked at all the genin, "Alright, Ibiki will depict the match arrangements for you in result of the drawing."

It didn't take long for him to do so. After a few moments of writing, he showed them all the board he had been drawing up so they could all see their names.

**-Uzumaki Naruto Vs. Hyuuga Neji-**

**-Gaara Vs. Uchiha Sasuke-**

**-Kankurou Vs. Aburame Shino-**

**-Temari Vs. Nara Shikamaru-**

The winner of Naruto and Neji's match was required to fight the winner of Gaara and Sasuke's match and the winner of Kankurou and Shino's match was required to fight the winner of Temari and Shikamaru's match. The winners of those matches would fight each other until there was an overall winner.

'_Uchiha Sasuke…_' Gaara thought for a moment. He definitely seemed like an interesting opponent, but whom he was desperately hoping to get paired against was Naruto. He was a Jinchuuriki, just like himself. The battle would be the ultimate challenge for him, and maybe the perfect start of the Sand's surprise attack on Konoha.

"Damn…" Neji muttered quietly, glancing at the blond murderer on the other side of the genin between them.

He remembered the first time he saw him when turning in their Chuunin Exam papers. The Hyuuga's seen his abilities and felt his chakra. He had an evil lurking inside him that Neji just could not comprehend. He had never felt a chakra more sinister than Naruto's. And his ruthlessness and passion to kill was unheard of. And it wasn't that Neji doubted his abilities to survive against this demon child, but seeing how much power the boy actually had had Neji wondering. Could he be the first to truly be able to overwhelm Neji's ultimate defense? He just wasn't sure.

"The Third Exam will take place in about a month," Sarutobi continued suddenly, "That should give you all enough time to rest and get prepared. Are there any questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand hesitantly in reaction, drawing the Hokage's gaze, "Yes?"

"Since there will only be one winner, doesn't that mean only that one person will be able to make chuunin?" he asked immediately.

"No, not exactly. Various people including the Kazekage and myself will be judging how well you eight do in the final exam. We will be evaluating your abilities and those judged to possess the qualities of a chuunin may become one even if they lose their match," the old man explained.

"So, it's possible for everyone here to go up in rank then?" Temari questioned after.

"Why, yes," the Hokage answered without a second thought, "But it's also possible that none of you become chuunin. Finishing this exam also means you have no more chances to appeal to the judges. Do you understand?"

Shikamaru nodded after a moment as Naruto folded his arms behind his head in boredom. The old man looked around at them all before nodding, "Alright! Congratulations for winning, once again. You are dismissed until a month from now!"

'_Kami, finally the old prick shuts up. Why won't he just die already?_' Naruto pondered briefly whilst looking up at his teammate standing on her own above him. If he had been one for manners, he would've thanked her for letting him use her kunai, but he wasn't, so he merely stood looking up at her for a few minutes.

Sakura looked back at him absent-mindedly. Sasuke was going up against that Sand ninja, and even though he wasn't insane for murder like Naruto, he was still a very dangerous opponent. She wasn't sure how well Sasuke could do against him, especially with that curse mark Orochimaru placed on his shoulder.

"Sakura."

She jumped immediately and whipped around to face the blond suddenly beside her. She had been staring straight at him and had not even noticed any movement. Not even the slightest sound had reached her ears. Naruto was something else.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Where's Kakashi?" he asked, dropping the term of superiority he normally used.

"Err, I think he may have left for Sasuke-kun," she answered tentatively, looking about the area in thought.

"Alright," he nodded before turning to leave without a second glance.

She looked on after him, somehow feeling more concern than she had before.

* * *

"Hey, kid."

Naruto slowly halted as his name was called with an unfamiliar voice. He had been taking a walk to the highest point in the village like he had always done each day to look out quietly and think. He had recently walked by a hot spring and not long after, the blond saw a man stand up out of the corner of his eye as he walked by. The man eyed him suspiciously, though this didn't break the genin's composure at all. In fact, the fact Naruto stopped walking was not even because he heard his name being called. He could sense this shinobi's level of skill, and it was actually more impressive than the Third's. The only type of ninja Naruto had ever heard of that could be of that level of skill were the Sannin. This fact interested him greatly.

Slowly, he turned his head to make eye contact with the old man. He blank-stared back. The Uzumaki narrowed his eyes slightly after looking down where the man had been crouching to see a hole in the fence they were next to. A moment passed and the boy met the man's eyes again.

"What a pathetic waste of time," was all he said.

"Let's leave my hobbies out of this," the ninja took a few steps toward the genin, "The subject right now should be you."

"I'm flattered, but I'm not looking to talk with a perverted hermit," Naruto shook his head before looking at his nails imperially.

"You're Uzumaki Naruto, right?" the man interrupted with a smirk, "Your reputation proceeds you."

"Heh, I must fail at stealth if so many people I've never seen before know who I am," Naruto turned to fully face him now, "So to whom do I owe this honor?"

"Right, right… Name's Jiraiya: Toad Sage and one of the legendary Sannin. I must say, it's even more of an honor to meet Konoha's Fox," said man grinned slightly.

Naruto studied him briefly, then grunted arrogantly, "I sensed as much."

"I've also heard you made it to the third exam. Congratulations."

"I should say it actually means a bit, coming from one such as you," the blond nodded before turning and continuing on his trek. Jiraiya strode to walk by his side. The boy watched him from the corner of his eye, "Is there a reason you're following me?"

"Simple," Jiraiya shrugged, "I want to see how much you know."

A soft cracking filled the air as the pair walked. The Sannin's eyes widened slightly when he observed Naruto's hands twitching at his sides until his nails and finger structure quickly lengthened. It was by then that Naruto was beginning to get irritated by the man's presence, which only seemed to peak his interest more.

"What I know shouldn't be your concern," the ninja deadpanned.

"Then what if I offered to observe your training?" Jiraiya questioned momentarily.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I don't do training."

"That much is obvious," the older male muttered, "But I'm curious. Doesn't he ever provoke you?"

"You act like I know who you're talking about."

"Don't play koi with me. The Kyuubi. He taunts you, huh? Instigates and attempts to persuade you to take the seal off, right?" Jiraiya looked ahead.

The blond slightly quickened his pace and laughed empty-heartedly, "Old man, you are four years too late. That bastard and I made a deal since he lives forever and I don't. I've accepted I won't live forever to kill all the fools on Earth, so I agreed to let him take over when I do. All he has to do is wait about sixty more years, and I'll take off the seal. It's not like I won't either. _Someone_ needs to massacre the people of this ruthless world."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like you have your life planned out, but tell me, when you get angry, do _you_ control your body? Or does _he_?"

"That is none of your concern either," Naruto deadpanned once more.

"You control it of course, but only to an extent, huh? You're still an amateur with his power. Use too much, and you begin to forget your conscience. Use it too long and your lifetime begins to ebb away. It's a trap. You have strict limits, and there's a very good explanation as to why," the Sannin stated, coming to a slow halt.

Naruto stopped a couple paces ahead of him, curious of the ninja's thoughts. He blinked at him out of the corner of his eye and waited patiently for his answer. Jiraiya hesitated.

"You're too weak."

Naruto's fangs lengthened.

"You don't even have the will to keep control."

Naruto's whiskers darkened.

"It's like you don't even try sometimes."

Naruto's lips blackened.

"So tell me, is it _really _you who calls the shots?"

Naruto's eyes turned bloody.

"_Do you have a death wish, old man?_"

Jiraiya shrugged, "Are you going to deny any of it's true?"

The blond paused, for the first time in his life, unsure of what to say.

The man nodded with a small smile, "Then it's settled, follow me."

He walked passed the genin as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And just as he passed, his smile fell. His thoughts drew back to his memories, and he couldn't help but feel remorse while Naruto followed him reluctantly, features steadily returning to normal.

'_How badly has this village treated you for you to end up like this, Naruto? They broke you down… __**hard**__. …I'm glad the Fourth didn't live to see the day when his son turned into the very monster he died to incarcerate,_' Jiraiya thought silently as he walked, '_…I'm sorry I wasn't here for you at the beginning, Naruto… I'll do everything in my power to bring you back._'

A small tear escaped from the corner of his eye, out of the genin's view behind him.

* * *

'_His chakra control's almost perfect._'

Jiraiya observed Naruto's very first time walking on water and the boy didn't even waver. He looked down at his chakra-balanced feet, then looked up at his new mentor, "Interesting."

"Cool, huh?" the old man grinned with crossed arms.

Naruto ignored him, walking around staring at the water beneath him as if some trickery were going on. Finally, coming to a halt, he looked up at the man again, "Very interesting. So what _else_ do you have to show me other than walking on water?"

"Right, right. This should be nothing for you after Kakashi's taught you how to climb trees, right?" Jiraiya asked with a wave of his hand.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "How do you know that?"

"Heh, I tend to know a lot," the other chuckled.

Suddenly, Jiraiya formed a series of hand signs and summoned a toad his height in a puff of smoke beside him. The boy stared as the man took a scroll from the toad's tongue and crouched down on the ground to open it, "But moving on… I'm going to teach you a chain of chakra-based exercises, and since your chakra control is excellent in itself, this should be no trouble for you."

The blond stepped off the stream toward the man and hovered over his shoulder to see the inside of the scroll. It was covered with boxes holding signatures written in blood. The Uzumaki raised an eyebrow, "What the hell is this?"

"A blood contract," Jiraiya answered monotonously.

Naruto blinked, "You're teaching me a summoning? Why? For what purpose?"

"I told you, it's a chakra-based exercise," the Sannin finally looked up at him, "Summonings are very precise when you use your chakra, and you usually need a lot of it. On top of that, you need to let it out all at once and the timing must be accurate. It's the perfect exercise for you." **(1)**

Naruto sighed. He should've known. After all, the man _was_ the Toad Sage. He didn't say anything before biting his finger, leaning down and writing his signature. Jiraiya rolled the scroll back up and gave it back to the amphibian, which disappeared shortly after, "Alright then. These are the hand signs you use."

The ninja watched him form _Inu_,_ I_, _Saru_ and _Hitsugi_, in that order, in a slower motion than he had when summoning the toad. Naruto nodded momentarily.

The genin soon narrowed his eyes. Really, was this man messing with him or was he just stupid? He new fully well who and what Naruto was. What was he doing teaching him techniques he knew would probably give him more power to do harm with? Water-walking was one thing but summoning was another thing entirely.

Nevertheless, the two began his training for the rest of the day. The summonings were barely even challenges. Naruto went from small simpler frogs to larger, more equipped toads in less than four hours or so. Jiraiya had to admit, he was impressed. Not even he had gotten the summoning down this quickly. Then again, what else could he expect from a child like Naruto, who had to figure out everything in the world for himself?

* * *

Gaara strode down the streets of Konoha under the night sky, ready to find a tall building or tower where he could sit and think. His siblings were already sleeping in their hotel room and Baki-sensei was out most likely discussing the plans of the attack with some of the Sound Village. The Sand Siblings still didn't approve of their orders, but had no choice but to follow them if that was what their father wanted.

The redhead sighed. He was stopped in his tracks by a frail scream from an alley a couple paces ahead. He blinked. There was sound of a scuffle, then another scream. Gaara dashed to the site, only stopping just around the corner so as not to be caught. The sound of sobbing was heard, and the pace of his heart quickened.

"_Go ahead_," a young sinister voice hissed, "_Scream… Beg for mercy…_"

Gaara's breath hitched. That voice was all too familiar now.

"_No one's going to save you…_"

The Sand ninja leaned to look around the corner and what he saw horrified him. Naruto, eyes hidden under the shadows of his hair, kneeled beside a woman who looked to be in her mid-30s. A piece of flesh on one of her shoulders had been ripped off and a bone was jutting out of her shin. A set of claw marks scarred her face and she was bleeding out of her left eye. The blond trailed the tip of his nail against her cheek with a sadistic grin.

Gaara looked away, breathing hard. He knew he should do something, but her wounds were so severe, he wasn't sure if it was better for Naruto to put her out of her misery or not. He heard another scream and snapped his gaze back around to see Naruto's arm implanted inside her stomach up to his elbow. Blood spilled into a puddle around her body. Gaara wanted to look away, but found he couldn't. He was frozen to his spot. He had never seen anything like this. It was a nightmare.

Naruto jerked his hand back out in the next second, a small beating organ in his clutches. The sand genin stopped breathing all together. The woman let out a mangled gasp as her heart left her body. Gaara watched the thing pulse a couple more times before stopping, the Leaf ninja's nails digging into its muscle.

Naruto stared at it for a moment, then at the woman before finally dropping her heart on the ground. Standing up on his feet, he looked down at her and deadpanned, "_Who's heartless now?_"

And at that moment, Gaara ran. He ran as if his family's lives depended on it. He ran long and hard before finally hitting a brick wall with his shoulder in one of the alleys he sprinted into. He fell to his knees in the darkness and threw up what little food was in his stomach.

* * *

**_Yup, that was the "something, something". Naruto strikes again!_**

**_Anyway, if you don't think Gaara would be the type to a) run away, b) throw up, or c) do both, then guess what? I don't really care. You know why? Gaara has grown up in a completely different way than how he originally grew up in the real story. He didn't make people explode or destroy their bones and mix their blood with his sand. No, he killed his uncle and then Temari, Kankurou and Baki came to the rescue. Gaara wasn't exposed to the crap Naruto just did so HA. _**

**_(1) Heh, no wonder Naruto sucked when he did it in the original, eh?_**

**_Read and Review!  
_**


	7. Ch7 Fear Like They've Never Known

_**Yes. I know. You all hate me. Honestly, I was surprised to see that this story was still getting hits. I entered a LONG period of writer's block for.. pretty much ANYTHING I was working on, and I apologize. I had this in my documents folder for as long as I can remember, and I didn't want to post it seeing as it was only 7 pages long in Word. BUT, I felt you guys deserved the rest of what I've written. I may discontinue this depending on how busy I become later this year and during the next, but I really don't want to. I really like this story and I know you guys do too, and for that, I'm sorry.**_

_**I'll try to add on to this in any way necessary!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Fear Like They've Never Known**_

Gaara sat on the mat facing the glass door to look off into the stars. He hated it, but he was almost afraid that if he sat outside on the balcony, somehow that monster would appear within the darkness that would loom behind him and whisper the last words that would ever grace Gaara's ears again. His sister and brother were sleeping soundly behind him and his sensei was out somewhere, going over the plan of attacking Konoha with one of the Sound spies. So, the young genin sat and waited, cursed with the inability to sleep as long as this demon possessed him, but his mind didn't dwell on that subject tonight. No, not after witnessing one of the most gruesome murders of his life.

He shuddered.

The scenes were still playing and replaying in his mind. That woman, soaking in her own blood as it left her body. He saw her scarred pale face in front of his teal eyes. The tears slid quickly down her face and she bit hard on her lower lip, trying to distract herself from the rest of the pain racking throughout her body. She clenched her fist, her fingers leaving blood trails on the concrete beside her. Her entire body was shivering. Conversely, the boy standing above her looked at her steadily with his body rigid. He was grinning.

Gaara closed his eyes. He even reached up to rub his left arm almost as if he were cold. He got the feeling that he wouldn't have been able to sleep even if he could. The redhead decided that it was best not to tell his siblings what he observed. It would bring nothing but fear, and that wouldn't be useful in the slightest when the great betrayal between Leaf and Sand began.

So, the Sand genin sat and waited the rest of the night. His eyes were wide and alert. And although he tried to keep his mind calm, his conscience was twisted with anxiety and paranoia.

_°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸ °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸_

This was it. The Third Chuunin Exam was tomorrow. The great betrayal was tomorrow. Gaara and his siblings were no less reluctant to carry the mission out as the time passed. If anything, they were even more unenthusiastic about the whole ordeal. And what was more, not only was the youngest of the three ordered to use his demon to boost the power and impact of the attack, but all three of them had no idea what difficulty they would face if Konoha's Jinchuuriki chose to present his demon-ridden side at the same time.

If as much energy, panic and adrenaline was caused by the treacherous event as Gaara expected, he didn't doubt that it would affect the Uzumaki. And then the blond would lash out with power they could scarcely imagine, not to protect his village, no, but to rip, mangle, maim and desecrate whatever living thing he set eyes upon.

Why? Because he would _enjoy_ it.

It would make him feel _alive_.

Gaara shuddered for the umpteenth time, walking down the one of the many streets of Konoha, unnoticed by any of the villagers that passed him by. He wasn't sure where he was going, nor did he really care. His body just felt the urge to be anywhere but behind closed doors back in that apartment. In fact, the redhead was so absorbed in his thoughts that he had even forgotten that Kankurou had been walking beside him the entire time.

And he had continued to be oblivious until his brother spoke, "It's so alive and colorful in this village. It's different from back home."

Gaara's expression cracked for a mere moment, turning to look at his brother directly before he hesitantly answered, "I suppose. The buildings and streets are filled with… voices."

"Haha, yeah," Kankurou chuckled, "It _is_ quiet back home in Suna, huh? Most of what you hear is the wind and the occasional whistle it has."

The Jinchuuriki nodded, leading the way around a corner, "It is different. I don't recall a time where everyone was so… social, back in our village."

"Me either," the brunet admitted, keeping in step.

It was then Gaara scanned the many villagers ahead of him to catch sight of light pink hair. The girl's identity was easy to remember. Not many had that shade of color in their hair. She was walking with a blonde Gaara didn't recognize all that well. He looked at her once during the Chuunin Exams. If he remembered correctly, her teammates consisted of a large boy who ate more than usual and another skinny boy who always looked irritated and tired. She had a fruit basket in her hand.

Kankurou looked up after the sun was blocked by a large white building looming over the street, "Hey, look at that. We found the hospital."

His brother followed his gaze. They must've been on the other side of the village from their apartment by now. He hadn't realized they had been walking for so long. Suddenly, Gaara stopped, still staring at the building above the pair. Kankurou came to a halt several steps ahead.

"Gaara?" he called with raised eyebrows.

Said boy didn't respond immediately. Memories of the preliminaries entered his already pressured mind, and he lowered his gaze to watch the pair of genin walking ahead of them once again. They were turning up the sidewalk to the hospital ironically. Gaara shortly wondered whom they were aiming to visit. Maybe it was that Uchiha boy that the pink-headed girl had once tried to have back out of the preliminaries. Other than him, Gaara could think of no other reason.

"Gaara?" Kankurou broke his thoughts with a call louder than the last one.

His brother looked at him for the first time in several minutes, then shook his head, "It's nothing."

And then he began walking again. Once he was beside the older genin, Kankurou turned to continue walking with him. Then, as his mind continued to linger on the preliminary matches, the scene of the large crater that resulted from the seventh match flashed in front of his eyes. And then the boy named Kiba, lying beaten and bloody in the midst of it. Uzumaki appeared next to him with nails sharp and eyes scarlet.

Gaara refrained from shooting a hand up to grip his head from the abrupt throbbing he felt in his temple. Before he even thought about it, he declared, "Let's go inside the hospital."

Kankurou gave him a bemused look, "For what?"

"That…" the Sand genin hesitated, deciding whether he should be honest or not, "That boy. Inuzuka."

He concluded Kankurou would accept the truth after a brief explanation. His sibling only looked more puzzled, "Inuzuka? Who fought Uzumaki in the prelims?"

"Yes," Gaara replied, steering them through the gate, "I wish to see how much damage he had received and how he has healed since then. It is… surprising to know he survived such a fight."

"Well," his older brother looked thoughtful, "That's true. He fought fate with chance. It wasn't exactly a promising or intelligent decision."

They were inside the building before the older genin realized. He didn't show his sibling the uncomfortable feeling he felt when they walked up to the desk. The woman looked up curiously from what she was recently reading.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked.

Gaara nodded, Kankurou answering for him, "Yes, can you tell us where the room Inuzuka Kiba might be staying in?"

"Inuzuka-kun?" there was a hint of suspicion in her voice, but she brushed it off, "Of course. He would be in room B 108."

"Thank you," the brothers bowed before turning to walk up the stairs to the left.

It wasn't long until they reached the hall where the room should've been, but once they turned into the corridor, both couldn't help but have an ominous chill crawl up their spines. The couple shuddered, surprised by the unexpected fear they felt. Gaara actually slowed his pace a good amount.

"Something's not right," he muttered.

"Yeah, no shit," his brother winced.

The redhead ignored his language when a nurse came into view. She seemed to almost be in a panicked rush, unsure of where she was going, much less what she was doing. Nevertheless, it was almost a relief to see someone other than themselves inhabiting the soundless hallway. She caught sight of them once she stopped mumbling to herself, looking nervous, then halted in front of them.

"You wouldn't be here visiting Inuzuka-kun, would you?" she asked, not meeting their eyes.

Both boys nodded after a moment, "We would be, yeah."

"Oh then, I am truly sorry, but you must wait," she answered.

Kankurou almost looked annoyed, "What? Why?"

"Well, there is a boy there now, and he has requested that his visit go undisturbed. I'm sorry, but I can't let you visit until he leaves," she explained, biting her lip.

The Sand Siblings paused, exchanging glances. Kankurou shrugged momentarily.

'_Well, when in doubt,_' he thought, '_Lie._'

"Look lady," he fought to remember the genin's first name, "He… Kiba is our friend. If there's a guy visiting him, we probably know him. So, it should be fi-"

"I'm sorry, boys. But there is simply nothing I can do until he leaves," the nurse shook her head and her voice was stern, but yet she still looked slightly disturbed. Almost guilty of an action she had recently done.

The boy seemed about ready to protest further, but a pale hand appeared in his view, "It's fine, Kankurou."

Said boy turned in time to witness his brother bow respectfully to the employee, "We apologize… We were just anxious to see him."

"It's quite alright," she answered with a small shaky smile.

The three of them turned to walk back where the pair had just came with the nurse slightly in the lead. The puppet master however, was opening and closing his mouth in disbelief. He was unsure of what his brother was thinking until the redhead suddenly glanced at him. Kankurou looked down to notice the cork lazily hanging between the genin's fingers. His dumbstruck expression slowly turned into a knowing grin.

A thin mist of dust floated soundly above their heads. The nurse didn't notice it drift softly ahead of her. A door was pushed open ahead of them, and the cloud entered. It wasn't long until a woman screamed from the same room. The nurse jumped, whirling her head about in alarm. She made a dash to the room in the next moment, forgetting the pair of brothers behind her immediately and missing the light brown thin cloud floating back out of the room as she sprinted inside. Kankurou laughed.

"Nice…" he complimented while Gaara replaced the cork into his gourd. The redhead nodded in response, then the both of them turned to walk back to Kiba's room. However, once they reached the hallway again, the same ominous feeling returned, making them feel almost cold.

They were at the door after what seemed like half an hour, although it was only a few short minutes. Since then, whatever chill they felt instantly became rays of heat beating on their necks. Both of them were sweating. The air surrounding them almost felt as if it were coming off a stove. It was when Gaara reached out to open the door, that he noticed he was shaking. Kankurou was experiencing a similar condition. Something was very wrong, and they could both sense it was all because of what was inside of the room they were about to enter. The redhead could even feel his heart drumming in his ears.

Yes, something incredibly bad was about to happen.

The boy took a big intake of breath before glancing up at his older brother. Kankurou nodded. Then, with what strength he had since his body was beginning to feel numb, he opened the door to a sight that made his heart jump into his throat. He felt his brother choke beside him. Neither of them blinked.

Kiba was indeed in here, and he was facing them when they entered. Closed lids gazed at the both of them and blood was drizzling down his chin. The pair vaguely wondered why his canine companion was nowhere in sight. Gaara observed this for a split second before turning his focus to the person who caused him to momentarily lose the ability to breathe. The blond boy gripping the other by his throat would be impossible to mistake as anyone else. Kiba was hanging a foot off the ground by his throat, and the hand that held him there was constricting steadily each second that passed.

But noticing the two new presences in the room, the boy ceased his movements almost thoughtfully, "Hmm… I should've expected my request would be ignored, being someone of my reputation. Then again, I didn't expect her to attempt holding off anyone for long. This isn't the first time I've been disregarded."

When the blond looked over his shoulder, he dropped the brunet indifferently on his hospital bed. He was unconscious, but breathing, judging by the coughs that followed. The door was closed slowly behind the two with Kankurou growling in his throat, "You sick bastard."

Naruto turned, grinning that sadistic grin that caused Gaara to look away before meeting eyes with him. His brother on the other hand, seemed furious, "What the hell do you think you were doing! He wasn't even conscious for fuck's sake! You're attacking him even after beating him in the exams? And what's more, in a state where he can't even fight back! What fucked up reason made you think you could do this? Much less get away with it!"

The genin looked like he was about to laugh, "Your concern amuses me, seeing as you wouldn't hesitate to kill a five year old boy not too long ago. You barely even know him."

"When the hell did something like that matter? Besides, I was only messing around with that kid. I didn't mean it! What would you be trying to kill _him_ for? Someone put you up to it or something?" the brunet snarled angrily.

"No, I did it of my own choosing," Naruto's grin had faded and his expression became blank, "It's nothing complicated. It's not even personal. Being stopped in our fight only delayed my killing him. Since my chance was stolen back then, I've decided to finish it now. It's only my desire that he dies."

"What sort of fucked up person comes to _that_ conclusion?" came the vehement question in response.

For a moment, the Jinchuuriki looked as though he wanted to laugh, "Interesting question, but I have no desire to repeat myself. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to finish what I've started. Interrupt me further, and I'll be forced to stop ignoring your pathetic excuse of an existence."

"Fuck that, you little-"

"Kankurou," Gaara's voice was barely above a whisper, "Enough."

His eyes pierced his brother's, pleading for him to stop messing with the fire before them. Kankurou took a deep breath.

"Calm yourself," his little brother ordered lightly before turning back to the blond and sighing, "And you… Continuing this sickening desire would be a mistake. I understand you have your demons as well as I, but that is no reason to resort to these measures. Me and my brother will act the moment you touch him again."

The underlying message he stated seemed to strike something in the Uzumaki as he ceased his movements immediately once again. Then, Naruto turned to look at the Sand genin curiously, really studying him for the first time.

"_Demons as well as I_…" he repeated thoughtfully, scrutinizing the boy's face until a light seemed to flicker behind his dead eyes, "Insomnia."

Both brothers blinked. Neither of them expected the plain remark. The leaf Jinchuuriki had stated it so casually, Gaara wasn't sure if he even had heard him correctly.

"You haven't slept for…" Naruto started, then paused, "No… You've never slept…"

Gaara fought to hold his gaze. He was beginning to feel even more uncomfortable than a few moments ago. It felt as if those blue eyes were looking through him. Learning about him. Judging him. Stealing what strength he had and replacing it with anxiety. They were cold and lifeless.

One minute passed that felt like an hour to the siblings. Naruto didn't blink once before breaking the silence, "Killing you might be more fulfilling than killing Uchiha. Seeing your eyes are all that I need to know what you've been through. I can see it… You could've become similar to me… Maybe even worse. The reason being the same as to why you have that unique ability over what hangs on your shoulders almost like a burden. But…"

His eyes flicked over to Kankurou's gaze this time, who shifted uncomfortably but didn't break eye contact, "You realized that you had family. You have a brother and a sister from what I observe. Not only that…"

He looked back at Gaara, "You're sons to the Kage of the Wind Country as I've heard around the village. It is interesting, meeting you two. Especially you, Gaara of the Desert, whose demons are as real as mine."

Kankurou was shaking with fury still, and he took a step forward, driving to change the subject, "How can you kill these people? Not only him, but I've heard what's been happening in this village. Ninjas and innocents alike are disappearing only to be found dead in some alleyway, and it's not hard to see why! Is this your sick idea of a joke? And what about your Hokage! What the hell has _he _been doing while you're walking the streets freely like some living nightmare!"

"Nothing," Naruto shrugged simply, "In all honesty, that old man would be the only resident in this village that I would resist ripping apart.

"After the Kyuubi was incarcerated within my body by the Fourth Hokage, the Third took it upon himself to burden his life with mine. He raised me into my childhood until I was of age to live sufficiently on my own with the money given to me. I have never blamed him for making the decision, seeing as he has returned to the position of village leader after the Fourth died to seal the Kyuubi inside me. I see him as someone I should return a debt to. Even so, I was hated and ignored by the very village that I was served as a tool to protect. My mother and father seemingly died somewhere after my birth, and I had no siblings to share my life with. I have lived life completely hated and alone for unknown reasons since I was never told the truth behind the odium. Apparently, it was tabooed to talk of the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, but it was foolish to expect I wouldn't discover what everyone resisted to say," the blond explained nonchalantly, "That I was a monster. Knowing this, my mind was thrown into a swirling period of chaos. My sanity began to slip between my fingers and I became emotionally unstable. The people of this place continued breaking me down every time I appeared in plain sight, so I resorted to only moving about at night within the shadows so as not to be discovered by those that loathed my subsistence. I learned that my existence developed into what many fear to become. The sheer fact caused me to lay alone in my home, wishing for my life to end."

The two other boys stared at him as he explained his life, unmoving. Their bodies were rigid and their minds were frozen. The sheer horror of his reminisce accompanied with the vacancy of feeling in his eyes was enough for them to not even _dare_ to breathe.

"I was unnecessary," Naruto stated steadily, "Unnecessary and hated to the point that the village wished I would one day vanish and become a lost memory in their minds. The Third protected me in result of the Fourth's dying wish, but even so, he was the only one who thought of me as something worth protecting. Countless times, under his very nose, I was sought out to be killed. Assassin upon assassin attempted to wipe out my existence. The only reason I survived each effort is imprisoned within my body."

He lifted the hand that had been recently used to crush Kiba's neck to his stomach, "When I became five years old, I heard his voice for the first time since I began this living hell. He spoke soothing words… Words of what _you_ would describe as _kindness_… It was more than anyone else in this village ever did, of course, excluding the Third. I surrendered to a sort of meditation that ended with me entering the darkest depths of my mind. It was the first moment I met Kyuubi, the most powerful being who ever existed.

"I must say, I was entranced when I saw him sealed behind those bars. He was something to be feared and respected. An entity of raw power. A deity, if you will. To say I admired him would be an understatement, even seeing him reduced to a mere prisoner cheated of his will. I had met him after the first attempt to end my life. It was a villager, nothing much to be feared. Even so, I was weak, pathetic and fearful for my life. Yet, as he attacked and unbeknownst to me, I felt something similar to possession, and I moved to lash out in defense. My vision reddened and I didn't witness what I was sure to happen. It was when I heard the yells and screams of fright by the villagers and saw the blood on my hands that I knew he was mangled and dead at my feet. I learned that my life was saved by the demon inside me. He promised protection, and I didn't hesitate to listen," the genin continued, "I learned that the only thing that mattered in life was myself. The fact that I killed to survive only made me realize how easy one's existence could disappear. I will kill in order to live for the rest of my life. People will die at my hands into eternity. The variable of death by old age has never bothered me. When I feel my time has come, I trust that releasing my demon will make sure the rest of the worthless people in this world perish. I will live on through him, spreading pain and destruction to the weak-willed and weak-minded. The fact that he is immortal only means that my existence will never disappear. He has taught me all there is to ever know in life."

The brothers waited for him to finish, still oblivious to the fact that they were holding their breath. When Naruto closed his eyes the beatings of their hearts only quickened. And when he opened them, what they saw almost made them run. His blue eyes, now portraying slits for pupils, were alive with insanity. The grin that appeared spoke with almost excitement.

"Live only for yourself. Love only yourself. And even on the brink of death," he declared through his grin, "You will live on."

Fangs appeared among his teeth and Gaara couldn't help but take a step back, pressing his gourd against the door and letting out the breath he had been holding, '_Those… Those eyes… His life… I could've become like that. And it would've been so easy. He's been broken down into insanity enough to resort in only trusting the one thing that brought about the reason for his solitude in the first place. He had… No one. I'm… I'm not sure which is worse: being born a monster or being forced to become one. He kills to exist. And… The strength his decision has given him is unimaginable. I can't… I can't even look him in the eyes without wanting to run. It's like looking at death itself. He'll… He'll seriously kill my brother and me if he has even the slightest urge to do so, regardless of my defense. Something tells me even _that_ would shatter easily against him. No, we can't face this. There would be no chance of surviving._'

Kankurou didn't look much different than his brother. Neither of them liked the sudden thirst that was expressed on the blond's face. Gaara dared to blink at that second only to have the Leaf genin vanish from sight. He froze only to have his older brother gasp. Naruto was leaning on the wall beside him, looking at his fingernails. Kankurou moved to jump as far away from him as possible, but somewhere in that process, Naruto had graced him with a harsh uppercut to his chin. He slammed against the window across from the door, grunting as he slid to the ground. Gaara stepped away from him quickly, but the Uzumaki's gaze was still set pityingly on Kankurou.

Naruto flickered to hover above the brunet in the next instant. Gaara moved protectively, ready to guard his brother if Naruto tried anything. That is, until the door opened. The Sand genin whipped around to face whom he had observed earlier that day. Sakura looked back in a state of shock, her hand covering her gaping mouth. Her green eyes scanned the scene taking place in Kiba's hospital room. Naruto looked at her over his shoulder and the expression of thirst slowly faded from his eyes. They returned to their usual façade of dull and dead.

"Sakura…" he looked back down at Kankurou's still and panicked form beneath him, "It is… unexpected for you to visit someone from Team 8. Well, I won't stop you. As you can observe, I am preoccupied with something else. It would be for the best that you carry on as if we weren't even here."

"Actually, Naruto," her voice shook, but her stance was confident. It was clear she had dealt with facing him too many times before to not know how to handle herself with him. Still, she looked alarmed and cautious, "A nurse told me you were in here. A man named Jiraiya is looking for you. So I came because someone told me they last saw you heading for the hospital."

"Hm," the blond seemed to be considering something, "That perverted hermit again…"

He turned to look at her directly this time but his eyes were unfocused, and for a moment, just a moment, Gaara thought he saw a flicker of life that had nothing to do with thirst, obsession or killing intent, but a genuine curiosity. And somehow, Gaara believed this man called Jiraiya (or the 'perverted hermit' as Naruto seemed to know him as) must've held Naruto's interest in a field different than the one that motivated him to kill. And it occurred to the redhead that sometime, before the final exam, he needed to find and talk to this stranger. What about, he wasn't exactly sure, but he knew it was because of something intuitive.

His thoughts were cut off when Naruto made his way over to the door once again and nodded at his teammate, "Alright. Let's see what he wants. Thank you, Sakura."

She stumbled back into the hallway with an awestruck face while holding the door open with her shoulder, obviously not used to being showed gratitude by the likes of Naruto. Even so, she hurried to stutter, "Y-Your welcome, N-Naruto."

Gaara watched him approach the threshold beside him with his brother mirroring his expression. However, he didn't expect the Jinchuuriki to pause in the doorway a mere foot in front of the boy. He didn't turn to look at Gaara, but it was obvious what he said next was directed at him.

"Your tattoo…" he commented abruptly, catching the redhead off guard. There was a moment's silence until he opened his mouth again, "_Love_…"

The word seemed to linger on his tongue as well as the air around them. Still, Naruto didn't look at him when he finally said, "It's interesting…"

And with that, he walked away with Sakura beside him. She kept in step with him timidly. It almost seemed that if she failed to keep his pace and fall behind he might whip around and strike her. Nevertheless, Naruto's eyes were trained on the floor where he walked. Sakura connected eyes with a blonde coming up the hallway and striding in the direction the pair had just come from. Their gazes were locked for a few moments, and Sakura immediately recognized her as the third and oldest Sand Sibling.

Temari's gaze shifted to Naruto once they were right beside her and her blank expression immediately turned to one of caution. But with time, each disappeared from the other's sight and resumed their stride. The Sand Sibling looked up with her heart beating quicker than it had been only moments ago. B 108. Her brothers were said to be in there.

And sure enough when she opened the door she was greeted with her brothers positioned at the exact same locations they were at when Naruto left the room. From what she could see, they were clearly in shock. It didn't take much to put two and two together to figure out why, so no questions were asked on her part. Instead, she walked over and knelt down next to Kankurou, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright, guys," she announced loudly, "C'mon! Get a grip and snap out of it. It's alright. He's gone."

The puppet master was breathing heavily and Gaara was no different, but they seemed to grow alarmed enough to realize she was talking to them. The harsh thumping in his rib cage made the redhead feel like it was about to burst out of his chest any second. Each beat was strong enough to push him forward without his consent.

Once Kankurou seemed to be getting back his conscience, Temari moved to the side of Kiba's bed. He was also breathing heavily and his neck was swollen. The shades of red and purple were hard to miss. And for once, she felt a flicker of fear for the life of someone she knew nothing about. Dried trails of blood had dripped from the corners of his mouth, but what she was worried about was the fact that his neck might have been internally bleeding.

She whipped around, "Gaara!"

He looked at her slowly, as if willing himself to realize she was present. She almost growled, "Go get a nurse!"

He seemed to hesitate.

"NOW!"

The boy blinked, finally realizing he was being told to do something, and he turned and was out the door in the next moment. Kankurou also seemed to snap back to his senses at her yell and he stood shakily before walking over to her side. It wasn't long until the youngest of them was back with a nurse in tow. In the meantime, Temari had pulled the covers back over the boy, hoping it might in some way help the situation.

The three of them stood back as the nurse hastily worked on the Leaf genin. Once she was done, Kiba's face that was once contorted in pain returned to one of relaxation. She turned to them with a small relieved smile and a soft sigh, "Thank goodness you came and got me when you did. Any later and the bruising on his neck would've grown too severe to heal."

Kankurou suddenly looked angry, "Why the hell did you let that psycho come here in the first place! Of course everyone in this village already realizes how dangerous he is! Does everyone just let this Naruto kid push them around?"

The nurse bit her lip, "Well… Honestly, yes."

The three were nothing short of stunned by her reply. She avoided their eyes, "Since Naruto-kun resulted to murder as his way of life, no one has really faced him and lived to tell the tale. It's the village's fault he grew into what he is, and most of the villagers regret the things they've said and done to him completely, but still, old habits die hard and hatred is not a feeling the villagers lack. Yes, many have tried to stop him only to end up beaten up and dead between buildings or other such places. And frankly, I believe the village deserves the punishment of what it's created."

Her honesty was nothing like they expected. It was completely the opposite of what they expected. Temari, who was now getting the urge to digress off such a subject, looked over at Kiba once more and nodded in his direction, "Will he be alright?"

The nurse also looked at the boy, seemingly grateful to change the subject as well, "Oh yes, he'll be fine…"

But as soon as her smile formed, it faded and her eyes were filled with sorrow. Her shoulders slumped at the epiphany that hit her, "Well… He'll survive at least."

Kankurou furrowed his eyebrows, "What's that supposed to mean?"

She looked back at them somberly, "Well… It was concluded after the preliminary exam that Inuzuka-kun would no longer be able to move properly. His left leg was shattered, meaning it wasn't just broken, but the whole of it was in pieces scattered throughout his thigh. Something that fatal can't be fixed with healing techniques alone. And not only that… His left shoulder blade was broken in several places as well along with a few of his ribs. For months he won't even be able to move on his own, meaning he'll be sitting in a wheelchair for much of this year and the next. Eventually he'll be able to use crutches, but it won't be for a while."

"That's terrible," Temari said in a cracked voice, "His life was stolen from him. It's… It's so…"

"Unfair?" Gaara finished. He hadn't taken his eyes off the boy once since he got back. Yes, he was _very_ familiar with the word. Finally, he looked up, "So, there's no chance?"

The nurse shook her head almost shamefully, "There could be, but not here. There are medical ninjas skilled enough to operate on him, but none in this hospital."

Gaara nodded. He could see his siblings grit their teeth on either side of them, probably to hold back from yelling. With a sigh, he turned to walk toward the door, "Temari. Kankurou. Let's go."

They didn't reply, but followed momentarily. There wasn't so much as a goodbye to the nurse as they left.

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**_Haha, would you say it was worth the wait? lol, prolly not. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Like I said, I'll do everything I can to update regularly. Read and Review please!_**

**_LALALA NO NUMBER NOTES__  
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